


parables of yosen, sorta.

by bobariri (xisanamii)



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Ficlet Collection, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Inconsistent tenses from chapter to chapter, Manager OC - Freeform, Post-Canon, Read the chapter summaries to see which ones are romantic bc these tags are getting long, Slice of Life, Yosen - Freeform, also most chapters will revolve around my OC because. i'm self indulgent, be prepared for jesus jokes, focus on yosen but other teams and characters will pop in, headcanon heavy, i'll tag those appropriately, it's not a chronological story, some chapters will be romantic bc i ship her with himuro, these are mostly focused on platonic stuff but
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:21:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 38,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24906763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xisanamii/pseuds/bobariri
Summary: (because parables have a lesson to be learned, and erika isn't sure her stories have spiritual significance).collection of ficlets centered around yosen and their new manager, erika.she's joined the team with himuro as the new captain and murasakibara as the second-year ace, as well as liu wei being the third-year senpai that everyone thinks is weird. oh, and masako hasn't changed at all - everyone fears the shinai. sometimes the graduated seniors will come visit too.erika's life in japan is able to get very hectic very fast.
Relationships: Himuro Tatsuya/Original Character(s), Himuro Tatsuya/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 9





	1. beginning.

**Author's Note:**

> can you believe it's the year 2020 and my mind is still rotting in knb hell? yeah me too - erika is four years old and she originally started as a troll muse who i didn't ship with anyone, and then my brain hit a lightbulb and i started shipping her with himuro -- yeah. i'm not sure if anyone here used to rp on tumblr, but erika did originate from there laughs, so if she seems familiar to anyone who did follow me from there, that's why. 2020 is the year where i indulge myself in oc/canon content B)
> 
> although that isn't to say that romance will be the main focus of this series (willibeabletohelpmyself). yosen ties very closely with seirin on my favorite teams, but since yosen has little content aside from the few side stuff here and there, i decided to fill in the spaces with my nonsensical headcanons. also because they don't have a lot of content, i get to shove my opinion on them (bad joke). unfortunately i can't really incorporate fukui and okamura because i'm upping things a year, but i'll do my best to let them pop in here and there, they're precious too aaa ;v;
> 
> also - i know most of us? if not all would like to pretend extra game never existed. i sure would. i'm taking this post-canon stuff very liberally. i'll mention it in passing for one of the other drabbles i have planned, but uh, kagami just YEETING to america without even giving anyone a heads up? who? 
> 
> i digress laughs - man i miss knb.... being in the fandom for a while kinda makes me feel like WHERE DID THE TIME GO, but i guess the good thing about knb is that it can keep getting milked for more merch content... anyway i rambled too much

When Erika had sat down in this chair, she mostly anticipated a series of basic questions about her interests, her goals for the future, if she had any basketball experience - anything that pertained to the skills she knew she had.

Instead, the female coach in front of her had a severe expression on her face as she wordlessly pushed over a picture of… a boy.

Erika wasn’t sure if she should be looking. Masako tapped the desk once, bringing Erika’s gaze down to it.

Okay, maybe a  _ boy  _ was an understatement. It was a picture of a teenager who was handsome beyond words, even Erika could see that. Still, as the beige-haired teen scrutinized the photo, she couldn’t help the judgmental words that left.

“Why does his hair cover his eye?”

Realizing that was rude, the teen brought her hand up to her mouth. Oh no - had that been a test to see if she was actually a good person, a person who didn’t judge people by how they looked? She had come in here with full confidence that she’d get the position because of her academic achievements, but she couldn’t really hide her saccharine tongue, now could she?

Instead of being booted out or even reprimanded for being insensitive, Masako laughed.

“He can see well despite that, actually. Alright, do you wanna date him?”

_ Was…. was that also a serious question? _ “No….?”

Masako nodded seriously. “Is he handsome?”

“I mean…. Yes?”

“Why don’t you-”

Erika held her hands up. She had no idea where this was going, but somehow she could predict what the next question was. “I don’t even know him.”

The coach leaned back in her chair, seeming satisfied with herself. “Okay, I accept you as Yosen’s manager.”

Erika blinked. “What?”

“You’re the only one out of…” Masako glanced off to the side. “Well, this makes it the sixty-sixth interview. Sixty-six people and not one I’ve been able to vet past this stage. I’d say that’s good enough.” Listening carefully, there was a tired edge to Masako’s voice. “You might not have basketball experience, but I trust we’ll be able to work past that.”

Erika noted how she said  _ ‘people’ _ . What, so if she had a different reaction to the picture, she would’ve been denied immediately? Somehow, she felt like that probably didn’t seem fair, but hey - she got the position she wanted at least.

“You didn’t really interview me,” she said hesitantly. This wasn’t like her, usually she’d take the victory with stride. But there was something about getting something handed to her that she didn’t like - hard work bred merit. “I guess I’m fine with that, but I did want to make sure you remember that I’m a pianist. The only reason I got into this school is because they expect me to reach great heights and all that in piano. So if there’s ever a time that a game or something conflicts with my piano competition-”

Masako held a hand up. “You wrote that on your application. I’m willing to accept that risk. I’ve heard a little about you from the other teachers, Kagari. I think your brain could help me out, but I did need to make sure you weren’t…” She paused. “Well, in any case, I believe you’re smart enough to figure out why I had this vetting process once you meet the team.”

Any compliment to her intellect was just going to give her a big head, not that she was complaining. She straightened and gave a grin. “Call me Erika, Kagari is my dad and it makes me feel weird. I know people get iffy about being on a first-name basis here, but since you’re older than me, it’s okay, right?”

Masako nodded. “Fine, Erika. Are you free to stay right now? Practice starts in half an hour, but you can meet some of the regulars. They’re usually early to practice.”

“Sure,” she agreed. Rising from her seat, she followed after Masako, a hum rising in her throat. Well, this wasn’t exactly how she expected her first week of school to end, but she could feel the excitement stirring in her gut. Coming to Japan was because she wanted a change in pace, and choosing the basketball club instead of something obvious like piano club was because she wanted something to relax from the busy noise of schoolwork and music. Besides, what did a manager do anyway? The coaches did all the work. At the most she’d probably just have to is wash their towels or put air in the basketballs - menial tasks.

Lost in her musings, she almost missed the introduction of the captain.

“Himuro Tatsuya,” he said, smiling politely.

Erika’s eyes widened. “Oh, you’re-”  _ The dude from the picture _ , is what she wanted to say, but Masako’s cough interrupted her and forced Erika to cut herself off. “--tall,” she decided to finish with, holding her hand out for the other to shake. Okay, he wasn’t  _ that  _ much taller compared to her, but she felt like if she commented on how pretty he was, it would just be awkward.

He raised a brow, in what she couldn’t identify as amusement or curiosity. 

“Oh, I forgot people here don’t sh-”

He grasped her hand firmly and shook it, letting out a chuckle. “After a year of being here, I finally get someone else who initiates handshakes, huh?” He rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s also a habit for me. I’ve been better at quelling it though.”

Her mouth formed an ‘o’. “You’re a transfer student too?” Well, it made sense. This school especially was pretty notorious for enrolling foreigners. However, Erika thought he looked Japanese enough, as opposed to her own Chinese features and above-average height of course. Evidently, many Japanese people here could figure out she wasn’t born or raised in Japan. Well, she hadn’t been here for long anyway, but her hidden point was still valid.

“In a way,” he answered. “You could say I’m a returnee. I was born here, moved to America and grew up there, and moved back here a year ago with my dad.”

“That’d look good on your resume,” she mused, more so for herself than him.

“Liu Wei,” Masako called over another player, interrupting the budding conversation. “This is our new manager, Erika. You can give an introduction of yourself later. I just want you to meet these three first.”

“Three?”

“Murasakibara! Get over here now!”

“Ehhhh, don’t wanna.”

Oh, now these two were definitely much taller than Himuro. Erika craned her neck up to meet their gazes. 

“Why are you wearing a scarf in April?” Murasakibara droned out after being dragged over by Masako. Erika noted that his tone of voice lacked any real incentive for information - he seemed to just be asking for the sake of asking.

“I get cold easily,” she shrugged. Still, she had no harm in answering.

“Our new manager?” Now Liu Wei spoke. He looked down at her inquisitively. “We haven’t had one before.” 

“She’s not my first one,” Masako corrected. “Let’s just say last year was the first time I had trouble recruiting a reliable manager.”

_ Liu Wei _ , Erika echoed in her mind.  _ Liuwei? I wonder what characters he uses _ . Finding that the information wasn’t worth exploring right now, she remained silent.

Having decided to not pursue that, she let Masako beckon her over as more of the club began to filter inside the gym. Icebreakers were always awkward, which was why Masako was only having Erika introduce herself, and she could get herself acquainted with the rest of the team over time.

The coach wanted her to meet the three regulars, so that meant what she saw now of the crowd were temporary players. Of the regulars, two of them were third years and one of them was a second year, like her. Erika wondered if that was normal for basketball teams. If the third years graduated, what would become of the regular team?

She shook her head. That was Masako’s concern, not hers. She was only joining the team to kill time, not get invested in it.

Erika smiled broadly, waving at the entourage of players seated before her. “I’m a second year like most of you, so feel free to just call me Erika, okay?” She wondered which act would be suited for dealing with these kinds of people. For now, she’d just go with amiable friendliness. In a club full of boys, they were more likely to leave her alone if she was nice but distant, right? If she was cold off the bat, that might bring the opposite reaction she wanted. But if she were overly friendly, they might get the wrong idea and think she wanted to be friends with them.

“What got you into basketball, Kagari-chan?” Someone asked.

… Well. She guessed she didn’t have to lie about that though. Though she might’ve used a lie in any other circumstance, she should probably be candid with the team now. It was better than having them find out later through some freak accident.

“I’m not into basketball,” she replied honestly. The response sent a ripple of shock and confusion through the crowd. “I’m good at organizing things and I’m smart. I’d be a good manager with those two things.”

The reaction was mixed, as she expected. But she didn’t expect another question from yet another curious second-year.

“Where did you transfer from?”

She restrained a flinch. Was it that obvious? And she thought she’d be good at not being too obvious, but she supposed being born and raised in America even in a strict Asian household was bound to out her in some way.

“America,” she started. “Los Angeles was the city my previous school was in, but I was born in San Francisco. You’ve probably never heard of those two cities,” she laughed. “And to spare you the twenty questions games, yes, I’m not fully Japanese. My mom is Chinese.” She crossed her arms across her chest, tilting her head to the side. “What else? I’m an only child. I’m wearing a scarf because I get cold easily and my favorite food is sushi. I’m a piano prodigy and I had good grades before I transferred, so I’m aiming for rank one in my level.” 

She figured she ticked about every box one would usually use to introduce themselves in an icebreaker. Judging by the shocked expressions on the team, she had guessed what they wanted to ask her in a single breath. Mentally, she pat herself on the back for that.

Masako dismissed the team and ordered them to the court, beginning practice.

Erika figured that was the end of her job. Grabbing her bag, she was about to say her farewells to the coach when Masako shook her head.

“Oh, I’m not done with you yet.”

A bad feeling went down her spine.

* * *

The third day, Murasakibara flopped unceremoniously next to her, leaning down and pressing his head on her shoulder. It was quite the interesting sight, seeing the purple-haired giant leaning lopsidedly onto the new manager. 

Erika grunted. She didn’t particularly like being a pillow, but she had a small handle on how Murasakibara worked. This would just have to be tolerated. She noted how despite his size, he was surprisingly being gentle - she had expected him to actually lean on her completely, but he was settling lightly. Despite how he acted, he could be surprisingly considerate…. at times.

“Eri-chin, I’m tireeeed,” he sighed. “Masako-chin is making me do extra.”

“That’s Masacoach for you,” she agreed. “You can take a small break and then get back to it.” A pause. “If you do well, I can give you one of the chip bags she stashed away after practice is over.” Masako had managed to prevent Murasakibara from eating snacks during practice, so Erika made sure she had a firm stance on that too.

“Okay,” he said readily. “Eri-chin, don’t forget your promise.”

“About that-” She stopped him as he got up. “What does Eri-chin mean? I don’t know that word. I’m guessing it’s a shortening of my name, but the chin part has me stumped.” Nothing about her chin was unique anyway. And she didn’t think it meant anything in Japanese.

He yawned. “Eri-chin is Eri-chin. I like Eri-chin, so I call you Eri-chin.” The words she said before resonated well within him. After observing her in passing, she reminded him vaguely of himself. He liked that. Murasakibara didn’t like basketball and neither did she - he thought it was perfect and she wouldn’t be nagging about his ‘true’ feelings (but if only he would admit he did enjoy basketball).

“Somehow, I understand that,” she laughed. “Alright, then you can be…” She trailed off. “Sushi-kun.” That was the common honorific used for people her age, right? They were in the same year anyway.

“Ehh, no way,” he huffed. “I’ve been in the club longer than you. You’re supposed to call me senpai.”

Was that how it worked? Erika didn’t completely know the nuances behind the culture here. While she studied about it and had the knowledge obtained from the Japanese side of her family, she knew that there would always be differences socially, and things that couldn’t be learned from books or really old people. She shrugged. “Okay, Sushi-senpai.”

He seemed to like that much better. Though he slouched, his chest puffed up a little as he dragged himself back onto the court. Erika picked up the clipboard she put to the side, scribbling down a note to herself. Masako had given her a clipboard yesterday to take notes and keep her analysis in one place. While she preferred to keep things like that in a journal, apparently Masako wanted to look at it too.

Plus, a clipboard was easier to write on. 

“The coach would likely be displeased if she could read what thou has been writing,” a voice sounded above her. Erika jumped again, cursing under her breath at the fact that she somehow missed the giant shadow looming over her, belonging to Liu Wei.

“It’s not anything bad,” she retorted. “Also, don’t you know it’s rude to be looking at other people’s work?”

Liu Wei shrugged nonchalantly, sitting down next to her. “Thou was not doing a good job hiding it.”

Erika frowned. Either her ears were tricking her or he really did have a strange way of speaking. It wasn’t like her Japanese, rough around the edges, but something else entirely. Formal was the closest synonym she could think of for that. “Well, she can’t read Chinese, and you don’t look like a snitch to me, right? Liu-senpai.”

Combining the Chinese surname with the Japanese honorific rolled off her tongue weirdly. Liu Wei fell silent and she wondered if he noticed too.

“ _ If you can write it, can you speak it? _ ” He asked.

“ _ What do you think? _ ” She grinned. For the first time, she saw his apathetic gaze glimmer with something akin to excitement.

“Liu Weixun,” he said. “I’m Liu Weixun.”

“Guo Juxiang,” she replied. A giggle slipped past her lips. “ _ Huh, I knew Liu Wei couldn’t be your full name. I was beginning to think Masacoach was being lazy. _ ”

“ _ It’s easier for them to pronounce half of it, _ ” he replied. “ _ I’ve gotten used to it. And I told her not to use my full name especially. It reminds me of when I get in trouble with my parents. _ ”

She shuddered, nodding her head in agreement. “ _ That’s part of it. _ ”

“ _ Call me gege _ ,” Liu Wei decided. “ _ Instead of senpai. It fits better. _ ” He tilted his head. “ _ As you seem insistent on being formal to your elders. _ ”

“ _ Formal is a funny way to put it, _ ” she replied. “ _ But I do feel it necessary to respect my seniors in some way. _ ” Well, she didn’t care on a deeper, personal level. She was raised as this kind of person, so it was ingrained in her behavior. “ _ Wei-ge sounds cuter. _ ”

Liu Wei nodded in approval. “ _ And I’ll call you A-Xiang. _ ”

Erika arched an eyebrow. “ _ You’re very old-fashioned, aren’t you? _ ”

“ _ Xiang-mei doesn’t come as smoothly, _ ” he responded. Lifting a hand, he rubbed the top of her head. “ _ And I call my younger brothers with this style too. _ ”

Younger brothers? It explained his behavior, she supposed. Not the strange way of speaking - she still didn’t get that. He knew she was an only child, so having her call him ‘gege’ seemed to be an odd sort of comfort on his part.

Not that she needed comfort. Suddenly Erika straightened and stood. No, she was fine - coming here may have been a culture shock and she was still adjusting, but she was fine alone. As long as she did her part and reacted in the proper way, she wouldn’t be disadvantaged. 

“ _ Masacoach is giving you the stink eye again. Better get back on the court _ .”

“Ah,” he nodded. “ _ Lest I be the victim of another hit _ .”

She wondered what he meant by that as he left. Erika sat down again, putting her clipboard to the side. Even if she said she’d come here and let things flow naturally, these people were surprisingly social. Her fingers brushed the outside of her school bag. She had observed practice for now - maybe this would be enough to have Masako dismiss her?

“So, how are you adjusting to things here?”

The voice of the captain stopped her from getting up. Erika breathed a sigh out through her nose.

_ Well, if it isn’t one, it’s another I suppose. _

“It’s fine,” she shrugged. “Different, but fine. The long hours, the cleaning - it’s weird. This school is like America but also not. You know, if you look up Yosen, they boast the Western-style education, and I can see that. The lockers are helpful too. But then they keep things like cleaning duty after school, or all these group events - it’s a lot more involvement with the student body than I’ve ever been used to.”

“Yeah, Japan is different like that,” Himuro agreed, sitting down next to her. “There’s a formality here that America lacked. Expectations are pretty stifling.”

The word activated a memory in her mind. Erika let out an ‘ah’ sound, digging into her bag. Himuro watched as she pulled out a pink envelope and handed it to him.

“Special delivery,” she said. “Maybe you should start cleaning your lockers on an hourly basis. Both of them.”

Yosen had lockers for their indoor shoes and they had lockers for their general use, imitating that of American schools. For the life of her, she couldn’t figure out how his admirers managed to fill his locker to the brim with letters every day. She could’ve gone her whole life without knowing that extra information, honestly.

Himuro arched a brow as he took the letter. “I’m assuming you didn’t write it.”

Erika snorted at that. “Believe what you want. I’m going to talk to Masacoach now. See ya, Otome-senpai.” She gave a half-hearted wave and stood up.

“Wait,” he said. “Otome?” The meaning of that word was maiden, wasn’t it? He didn’t understand the label.

“Don’t worry. It’s a comment on how popular you are. You should look up otome games when you have the chance.” She gave him a cheeky grin and made her way to Masako.

_ How… confusing _ . Himuro tilted his head. It seemed she was not as serious as he - or anyone on the team - thought she was. If that would be a good thing for the team -- well, that did remain to be seen. With the school year having just started, he supposed there was plenty of time.


	2. the parable of being outmatched.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a step closer to becoming part of the team, so to speak. (gen)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i guess the beginning chapters are kinda sorta chronological LOL wait for them to start making no sense that's when you know i haven't planned anything. i think i have about three more written chapters i need to just edit and draw for them hmm
> 
> couple random ocs for the new members. i dub them yosen's idiot trio

Erika watched the players jog across the court, covered in sweat and looking gross as always. She didn’t like getting sweaty - she had no idea how they could handle it. However, she supposed that was just a part of their dedication to the sport. Even the normally lethargic Murasakibara was trying his hardest in practice.

It was weird to her, how he would voice he hated basketball but then try just as hard as the captain, Himuro.

“Erika.”

Masako’s voice broke the manager from her thoughts. The second-year straightened her back and looked towards the coach.

“Have you thought of a way to promote the team yet?” Masako asked.

She blinked. “You mean, that wasn’t a joke?”

The coach rolled her eyes and immediately swung her shinai. Erika yelped, rubbing her shin as she bit her bottom lip to restrain a curse.

“You can’t blame me for that!” She protested. “Why would you need to promote the team? Isn’t Otome-senpai’s face enough to get people to join? If they haven’t joined by now, it’s because they aren’t interested in basketball.”

“We need more first years.” Masako glanced out at the court. “Well, finding more talented people in general would be helpful. Our current regulars are Himuro, Murasakibara, and Liu Wei. You don’t know this since you’ve just joined, but we used to have two regulars who excelled in playing too.”

“Right, they graduated.” Erika flipped up a few pages on her clipboard. “Okamura and Fukui, right? I’m not sure you’ll be able to find people the same as them.”

“I’m not looking to replace them.” Masako sat down next to Erika, crossing one leg over the other. “In fact, I was thinking of taking a new approach. Hence why I asked you to promote and not Himuro.”

Erika frowned. “Masacoach, I’m good at academics, not at being a salesperson.”

“Surely someone of your caliber could handle both.”

_ Oh _ . Erika heard the slight edge to Masako’s voice and knew that the coach was specifically pulling her strings. True, Erika prided herself in being well-rounded and versatile. In fact, she boasted she could read the minds of the team in an instant because they were predictable.

That… did not prove itself to be fruitful, but at least she was starting to learn how to do that.

“You already know that I don’t know anything about basketball,” Erika replied. “Well, obviously aside from what you’ve told me to research. And watch. Even with that though, I’m not sure I have enough experience to pick players to meet your expectations.” That’ll be enough of an admission of her own lack of faith in this particular area of her job. Erika would prefer to be given the task of studying past plays than to do this. She may have a lot of confidence, but only in tasks she knew she could actually do.

“I thought you were good at reading people,” Masako arched a brow.

Erika’s face twisted. “I am.”

“Then this should be no problem for you.”

“Fine! It won’t!” 

She took the bait. Erika cursed herself when Masako left, a smirk on her face. Well, she supposed that this would be a good opportunity to put all her weeks of analysis to the test.

“Otome-senpai!” She called out. The captain jogged over, a questioning look in his visible eye. Ah, how she enjoyed the fact that Himuro would actually respond to the ridiculous nickname. “Let’s go to the sports festival event after practice. Masacoach wants us to promote the team, and I need your face.”

Himuro laughed quietly. “Wasn’t that assigned to you?”

“Yeah, but shouldn’t the captain of the team have a hand in showing how much he loves basketball?” Erika nodded to herself. “Also, if I can’t find talented people, I can find meatshields. Pretty sure there’s some boys out there who would be captivated by you.”

He wasn’t sure how he should feel about being used as a mascot. 

“Sushi-senpai, you should come too!” Erika added when the purple-haired student came over, most likely to grab a towel a few feet away from her.

“Too much work,” he sighed.

“C’mon, I’ll buy you a cupcake when this is all over.”

Tempting… very tempting. “Aren’t you bringing Muro-chin?”

“More faces couldn’t hurt. Besides, you’re tall. People will definitely know you’re in the basketball club.”

Murasakibara pouted. “What if they use me as a meeting spot again?”

Erika tilted her head. “Has that happened before?”

“Multiple times,” Himuro agreed.

“It’s okay, I’ll give them a few words if they do that.” Erika crossed her arms across her chest. “Though I guess if you really don’t want the cupcake…”

“I’ll go,” he droned out. “Besides, Muro-chin will probably get more attention than me.”

“That’s a given.” Erika stood up. “I’m fully counting on you, Otome-senpai.” Then she pointed at his face, grinning. “By that, I mean that pretty face of yours. Let me do all the talking, you’ll just be Yosen’s poster boy.”

Liu Wei, overhearing Erika’s ridiculous declaration, decided to make a comment as he came over. “Sometimes I forget, A-Xiang.”

“Forget what?”

“That thou doth know Himuro has ethereal beauty.”

“How can I forget something like that?” She arched an eyebrow. Himuro had been her first obstacle when she interviewed for the manager position. “Just because I don’t want to lick his face doesn’t mean I’m blind.”

Himuro brought a fist to his mouth, coughing. His expression was unreadable. “I’m still here.”

“I know you are.”

Liu Wei still looked amused. “Truly, A-Xiang’s personality is most suited to be our manager.”

“Really?” She hummed. “Well, wouldn’t it be even weirder if I didn’t see just how pretty he was?”

“That was not my meaning,” Liu Wei corrected. “Truthfully, you could be in love, but so long as this doth not affect your work, then I see no problem with it.”

“Good thing I’m not then.” Erika didn’t like the direction this conversation might be going, and Liu Wei’s oblivious comments surely would not help it. “Also, you’ve already asked me this.”

Himuro curiously decided to comment. “Ask you what?”

“If I was interested in dating anyone on the team,” she replied point-blank.

Himuro gave his fellow teammate an incredulous look. Liu Wei was unfazed and nodded his agreement.

“I’ll never get why he’s so fixated on romance,” she shook her head. “Anyway, my answer was no and remains as such. Obviously, you can choose to believe me or not.” She motioned to Himuro. “But doubt me after the event, okay? We’re wasting our time here.”

“Right. Let me get changed.”

“Actually,” she said. “Just wear the jersey jacket. It’ll be fine.”

“Wait for me,” Murasakibara lamented without much effort. “I’m slowly coming.”

\--

When Erika said she had a plan to get attention, he didn’t think it would be this. Himuro was starting to learn just how daring their new manager was, but he still couldn’t help the exasperation that rose as he saw Erika struggling to get her balance.

If Masako saw this, she might kill them all. Participants and witnesses included.

“Careful with her, Atsushi.” Himuro warned.

Murasakibara huffed. “Eri-chin, you better give me ten more cupcakes after this.”

Erika hummed. “If you don’t drop me, I’ll double it.”

“Deal.”

Yes, currently the manager of Yosen’s basketball team was propped up on Murasakibara’s shoulders as if she were a child and not a seventeen year old girl. Himuro couldn’t tell who he should be more worried for.

Still, her plan was working. People were staring and some approached to question why she was up there. She held the basketball and explained, though she did have to raise her voice because of the large disparity in distance.

But then, trouble came.

“The basketball team, huh?”

Gazes turned towards the voice filled with arrogance. Erika grinned, tapping on Murasakibara to tell him to put her down. He did so surprisingly gently, eyes glancing downwards.

“That’s right~” She hummed, placing her hands on her hips. “Do you play?”

She could tell they were first-years. Any second or third year would have known who Himuro was at the least, even if they lived under a rock. Plus, that naive confidence was very telling of first-years… however, Erika had to wonder just how long they’ve been in the basketball world. Even she as a newcomer knew the Generation of Miracle’s fame (well, she had to for the sake of research).

If she had to guess, they definitely transferred from a different country, or they started playing only recently and hadn’t read their share of sports magazines.

“You could say that,” the leader huffed. “Serizawa Kyojurou, class 1-A.”

“Itou Seito.” This one was dark-haired, brooding, and certainly the quieter of the three.

“Nakamura Katsu! Nice to meet you!” This one was bright, enthusiastic - definitely more fitting to be a first year. 

Erika elbowed Murasakibara to introduce himself right after Himuro did. When that was over, Serizawa merely rolled his eyes.

“Is this a joke? Do you think you can play basketball just because you’re tall?”

Murasakibara yawned. “What do you mean?”

“You hardly have the attitude of an athlete.”

Honestly, it was too much of a pain to be bothered by that. However, he was starting to get annoyed. This pipsqueak who was definitely trying to challenge him - perhaps he should show them how basketball was played? 

Then Erika tugged on his arm, stepping forward with a smile.

“And what might be the attitude of an athlete?” She put a finger to her mouth, eyes wide with curiosity. 

Her demeanor changed. Himuro recognized it as when she would purposefully act demure, and Murasakibara knew enough about the act to see through it as well. Not that it mattered, but he had a feeling something interesting would happen, so he stayed quiet.

The question seemed to catch Serizawa off guard too. He cleared his throat, cheeks flushing. “W-Well, for starters, you have to be good at the sport. Strong, athletic, and handsome.”

Erika tapped her chin. “So, like this senpai right here!”

She grabbed Himuro’s arm and tugged him forward. He let her do so, his expression stoic. The trio of first years glanced at him, eyes widening in shock. Itou and Nakamura whispered something to Serizawa, who scowled and swatted them away.

“Well, a pretty face just isn’t enough for basketball,” he countered. “I doubt he can play. Look at how fragile he looks.”

It was tempting to roll his eyes at the comment, but Himuro kept his poker face. Murasakibara grumbled something under his breath.

Erika’s lips twitched, but she maintained her sweet smile. “Ohh~ I see, so you guys are the perfect example of good athletes?”

“Yes,” Serizawa nodded. Her facade did seem to work on him - even despite the arrogance he had in talking down Murasakibara and Himuro, he seemed to be more gentle to the female manager. “If Kagari-chan could see me play, then I think she’ll know!”

“Then why don’t you come over to the gym,” she offered. “See what our team has in store.”

“No offense, Kagari-chan,” he started. “But if your basketball team has these two as regulars, then I don’t think there’s much to see.”

Himuro frowned. “Now, hold on there-”

Erika pinched his arm. It didn’t hurt, but it caused Himuro to glance down at her.

“So, if by any chance, my senpais were to beat you guys in a basketball match,” she said. “Would you join the team?”

Serizawa laughed. “If that were possible, then I’d even shave my head.”

“There’s three of us,” Itou interrupted. “Would you be playing as the third person? A three-on-three?”

“What?” At that, Erika’s expression faltered.

“You’re the manager, right?” Nakamura added. “So you must know how to play too.”

“Obviously,” she recovered, a blatant lie that only those on Yosen actually knew about. “But I’m not as good as my senpais. I can get someone else to play against you.”

“Nope, it has to be Kagari-chan!” Serizawa refused. “Otherwise, we won’t accept the match.”

“That’s fine,” Himuro spoke. Erika turned to shoot him an incredulous look. “Atsushi, Erika-chan, and I. We’ll play against you next week, at the outdoor basketball court. Would that be fine with you?”

“Otome-senpai,” Erika muttered lowly. “Are you sure?”

“Of course,” he assured with his usual placid smile. “Don’t worry, we’ll win.”

“I accept your challenge,” Serizawa nodded. “And when you lose-” He paused, as if embarrassed to continue speaking. “Then Kagari-chan has to go on a date with me!”

Hell, this was completely straight out of a cliche shoujo scenario. Erika felt the urge to murder Himuro for accepting, but he merely nodded. Murasakibara yawned.

“Good thing Eri-chin won’t have to do that then. Can’t wait to see you bald~”

Serizawa scowled and opened his mouth, but Nakamura covered it and dragged his friend away. Itou nodded to them and walked off with them.

Erika hadn’t even noticed there was a crowd. Once the match was decided, all the onlookers dispersed, murmuring in excitement about the newest piece of gossip.

Once they were decidedly alone, Erika stomped on Himuro’s foot. Damn him for being unfazed by that too.

“Otome-senpai! You know I can’t play basketball! I’m not even athletic!” 

He shook his head. “I’m sorry about putting you on the spot, Erika-chan, but rest assured we won’t lose. I wouldn’t have accepted otherwise.”

“If I have to go on a date with that arrogant stuck-up orange-head, then you’re shaving your head too!” She retorted.

“That’s fair,” he laughed. “Good thing that won’t happen.”

“Don’t worry, Eri-chin.” Murasakibara reached over, ruffling Erika’s hair. “We’ll win.”

“I’m not worried about you guys,” she sighed. “You guys may be talented players, but those three…” She frowned. “I can tell they’re good. They’re not prodigies, but they give off the same vibes as players like Sakurai Ryou and Hyuuga Junpei.” Granted, what she saw of them was only in recordings, but the main reason she became their manager was because of her exceptional ability to analyze people.

“Yeah,” Himuro nodded. “I can tell they have potential. It might be a tough game. However, as their senpais, I guess we shouldn’t bully them too much. Right, Atsushi?”

Murasakibara wasn’t so keen to agree. “Ehh, I don’t like the way they talk.”

“I’m sure they’ll change once they join,” Himuro laughed. “Coach is pretty persuasive. She changed you, didn’t she?”

“Not really.”

Their manager scowled, interrupting their banter. “I don’t get why you two aren’t worried.”

“Probably for the same reason you challenged them in the first place,” Himuro mused. “You had faith in us, right? Despite everything you always say, of course.”

Erika blinked. She knew that Murasakibara and Himuro were talented - Murasakibara was part of the Generation of Miracles in this world and Himuro was a prodigy. She hadn’t seen them play a game in person, only from recordings of their past games. Still, it didn’t really mean she had faith in them. She just knew they were good, so she was using them to further her own task, which was to recruit new members.

She didn’t know why he was speaking such nonsense. She looked away, pulling her scarf up. “I dunno. What do I always say?”

Himuro let the rhetorical question remain as such. “We should get back to practice.”

Erika winced. “God, Masacoach is gonna kill me.”

“I’m sure it won’t be that bad.”

As soon as they stepped inside the gym, Masacoach’s shinai came whirling towards Erika. The manager, with zero instincts, had the bamboo sword smack her hip.

She yelped, doubling over. Sweat rolled down Himuro’s neck as he stepped in front of Erika, feeling a surge of pity as Masako came stomping over.

“I heard about the mess you three created,” their coach gritted out. “And just what do you plan on doing, Erika! You can’t even play!”

Erika rubbed her sore body part. “I know that!”

“I accepted their terms,” Himuro interrupted. “Coach, don’t take it all out on Erika-chan. You still need her in good shape to train.”

“Train?”

Masako arched an eyebrow while Erika voiced her confusion. Himuro nodded, sensing that the black-haired woman’s rage was subsiding.

“Coach can train her, right? You used to play professionally.”

Masako sighed. “Is that why you were so stupid as to allow them to pitch Erika as the third player?”

Himuro rubbed the back of his neck. “I thought you wouldn’t refuse, seeing as our reputation is on the line too.”

Masako walked over, picking up the discarded shinai. Erika hobbled over to hide behind Murasakibara.

“I don’t have a lot of time to do that,” she said. “I can train her during practice, but I have meetings to attend. Himuro and Murasakibara, since both of you are our aces, you can train her after-hours then.”

Murasakibara let out a long-drawn protest, which Masako whacked him for. “No buts! You guys created this mess, you’re going to win and fix it!”

“It’s no problem,” Himuro agreed. “We can do it.”

“I hate to burst all your bubbles,” Erika interrupted. “But I hope you realize that you cannot possibly turn me into an athlete in a week. I can’t even run a mile.”

“We’re not miracle workers,” Masako rolled her eyes. “But even a week is enough to teach you how to make a free-throw, at least.”

“Ohohoh-” Erika laughed. “You’re highly underestimating my lack of athletic prowess.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Himuro assured.

Four days later, it was not fine.

Erika was gasping for breath, clutching her chest as she decidedly collapsed on the cold gym floor.

Himuro was watching with something akin to despair in his eyes. Erika would call him a cruel monster, if she had the energy to speak.

She wheezed brokenly as an effort to spite him.

Masako furrowed her brows. “I’ve really never met someone who was this weak.”

“Thanks, I try,” she muttered.

“Well, she can run a little faster than before,” Himuro tried to offer as consolidation. 

“Her shooting skills are abysmally subpar. They’re even worse than Kuroko’s.”

“Kuro-chin had some practice,” Murasakibara put in, mention of his old teammate spurring him to contribute to the conversation. “Eri-chin is just Eri-chin.”

“That’s true,” Masako sighed. “Well, just keep doing your best. I won’t see you this weekend, so you better use that time to train yourselves. Since Erika can’t play, we’re counting on both of you.”

“Wasn’t that… the plan in the first place?” Erika coughed. “Why… why would you make me try?”

“Your suffering is my joy,” Masako replied sarcastically. “But don’t worry too much, Erika. Himuro and Murasakibara will win. You just need to pretend like you’re trying.”

“I wasn’t worried,” she muttered. It didn’t sit well with Erika. Even if she knew she could never embrace basketball passionately, she didn’t feel good about half-assing this new assignment. In spite of herself, her pride got in the way. “Otome-senpai,” she started, sitting up. “You remember those PACER tests from middle school?"

"Of course."

"The highest I've ever gotten to was eighteen." She shot him a look when she noticed he brought a fist to his mouth. "Oh, shut up. I bet you were one of those show off athletes who dragged the test onto the eighties."

"Right on the dot," he couldn't help but laugh.

"Anyway, my point is, running has never been my thing. But let's keep going for the shooting part."

Himuro arched a brow. “You want to keep going?”

“I didn’t stutter, did I?” Shakily, she rose to her feet. “Let me at least keep trying. You’re a shooting guard, so teach me how to shoot. All Masacoach’s been doing is trying to improve my stamina.”

“Alright,” he nodded. “Fair warning, I’m a strict teacher.”

“No one can hold a candle to her,” she laughed. “Bring it.”

\--

This match was a good opportunity to see their potential new recruits in action. Erika knew she wouldn’t be able to tell the difference, which was why she asked Masako to watch the match. She figured Himuro would be focused on playing in order to do that.

Masako said she would, but made it clear to Erika that she expected an analysis of the match after it was over. Seeing as the manager would probably just be standing there doing nothing useful, she agreed.

“You’re wearing a scarf?” Serizawa questioned.

“Wouldn’t be me without it,” she replied, tugging on the ends of it lightly. “Kyojurou-kun, please be gentle with me.” 

The usage of his first name caught him off-guard. He stammered out a broken response and ran off to join his teammates.

“Eri-chin is sneaky, eh?” Murasakibara commented, watching the exchange.

She shrugged. “If I can’t win by brawn, I’ll use my brain.”

“I see,” he said. After another moment, he spoke again. “Does Eri-chin know the rules?”

“By theory,” she replied. “I’m sure the application might be different, but that means I’m just going to rely on you and Otome-senpai a little more.”

Murasakibara yawned. “Mostly Muro-chin. I’m just gonna defend.”

She knew that was his specialty, so she wouldn’t scold him on it. Nakamura jogged over, a bright grin on his face.

“Kagari-chan, are you ready to play?”

Erika faked a smile. “Sure thing, Katsu-kun!” She glanced over to where Serizawa and Himuro were going to do the tip-off. “So, what are you good at?”

The usage of his first name also had the youth flushing red. “U-Um-” He cleared his throat. “I’m a point guard! I’m pretty good at looking at the court. But…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I have a feeling I won’t get to do much. Serizawa is really competitive. He’s probably going to do a lot of one-on-one’s with Himuro-senpai.”

Erika squinted. They did need someone to play point guard well. But if she couldn’t see Nakamura play, then was there a point?

“What does Seito-kun play?” She asked.

“Small forward!” He replied readily. “And Serizawa is a power forward.”

Erika glanced over to the silent of the trio, who was standing under his hoop. So, he played the same thing as Liu Wei? Their heights couldn’t be any more different though. And power forward was a position they were also missing. Although Yosen had third and second years filling in the positions on the regular team, they had yet to find people of consistent caliber.

She placed a finger to her chin, lost in thought. If Serizawa could fix his attitude, he might be valuable to the team. As for Nakamura and Itou, they seemed more amiable than their ‘leader’, so as long as their playing skills were sufficient, Masako could make use of them regardless of their position.

The sound of a whistle pulled Erika from her thoughts. The game was starting, so she had to pretend she was at least trying. However, Nakamura was tasked with guarding her. He gave her an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, Kagari-chan, but we can’t take any chances.”

She restrained a frown. If all he did was guard her, she wouldn’t get to see him be useful. It wasn’t like she’d be much of a player to go against, after all. “Scared of little old me?” She giggled instead.

She wondered just how little exposure to girls they had, if he and Serizawa could be flustered this easily. Erika knew her feminine charm score was pretty low - it was likely the saccharine attitude she composed that captivated them. Still, if being fake nice was all it took, she supposed it would be easy to convince them to join.

Well, they were going to win anyway. Her eyes wandered to observe Himuro, who was effortlessly using his mirage shots to score points. Serizawa was definitely overwhelmed, having underestimated Himuro’s skill.

On the occasions he did get the ball, Murasakibara would block him immediately. Height was not the only thing that mattered in basketball - if Murasakibara didn’t have the skills, Serizawa should have easily bypassed the height factor.

Erika couldn’t help but grin. It was his fault for underestimating her team. Now he was going to be bald.

That didn’t mean he was a bad player though. He wasn’t entirely on Himuro’s level, but when Erika observed Himuro holding back, he could block some shots. It wasn’t always successful and she had a feeling Himuro was kinda toying with him, but… if he had proper training, perhaps Masako could make use of him too.

She couldn’t hear what they were talking about. But Himuro glanced at her after Serizawa said something. They made eye contact just as he conducted a drive, but somehow the ball slipped and suddenly it was coming to her. 

Shockingly, she actually caught it.

“What the-”

“Erika-chan, go!”

Barely remembering that she had to dribble, she ran past Nakamura, who had also been surprised by the change in position.

This was their last shot, and although the basketball club had a sore lead of eighty to zero, it would be weird if she missed this shot, right? 

She made eye contact with Himuro, who smiled, and Masako in the crowd, who nodded.

Erika shut her eyes and threw the ball, holding her breath.

She heard the ball collide with the hoop, a familiar sound of hitting the net before the floor.

Cheers of her teammates filled the court. Murasakibara came over and hoisted Erika in the air. She yelped, swinging her legs around.

“Congrats, Eri-chin,” he droned. “Now Masako-chin won’t bully you that much.”

The feeling was exhilarating. There was a strange warmth in her chest as she looked at the basketball team coming up to congratulate her and the team as well.

“I didn’t do anything,” she hesitantly said. “Otome-senpai and Sushi-senpai did the work.”

Masako shook her head, letting out a short laugh. “Sure they did, but just a week ago, you couldn’t make a free throw. I’d say it’s fair to celebrate your own little victory too.”

Erika would never be able to truly understand why basketball was so valued to these people. But the adrenaline that coursed through her body was unmistakable. It was like the times she won piano competitions.

Of course, it would feel good to win. 

A genuine smile formed on her face. “I see.”

The team that knew her true self blinked in surprise at that. The smile faded as quickly as it came and she turned to the trio of first years.

“Well, how about it?” She asked, as Murasakibara put her down. “I think you owe an apology to my senpais.”

They looked reluctant but eventually Serizawa nodded and bowed his head.

“I’m extremely sorry for my ignorant words last week! If you would forgive me, I would be honored to join the basketball team!”

Erika looked towards Masako. “Masacoach-”

She karate chopped the top of Erika’s head, eliciting a whine. “I told you many times to call me coach.”

“And it’s not gonna happen,” she muttered under her breath.

“You three will need to fill out a form,” Masako stated. “But I see potential in you. Therefore, consider yourself accepted.”

“Thank you very much!”

“Welcome to the team,” Himuro smiled, holding his hand out to the trio. They each shook his hand, newfound admiration in their eyes.

As it should be. Erika found it hard to believe that those kind of straightforward idiots could resist his charm.

Until Serizawa came over to Erika, his cheeks dusted in red.

“Kagari-chan, please take care of me!” He bowed to her.

She had a bad feeling about this. Nonetheless, she smiled and clasped her hands together. “I look forward to working with you, Kyojuro-kun!”

The next day, he came to practice bald. She noticed Himuro biting his lip to refrain from laughing while Masako arched a brow. Murasakibara was openly making fun of him and Serizawa took it in stride. As for Erika, she was snickering behind her scarf. If Serizawa remained this straightforward, he had potential to succeed. As an idiot, probably.

“Erika-chan,” Himuro called out. The manager stopped and turned, clipboard in hand as she tilted her head.

“Otome-senpai,” she acknowledged. 

“Good work yesterday,” he said. “I didn’t get a chance to properly congratulate you.”

She gave him an accusing look. “You passed to me on purpose, didn’t you? There was no way you’d fumble the ball that late in the game.”

He gave her a smile that she would call devilish. “I thought it’d be a good chance to cement you as part of the team too.”

“What do you mean?” Now he definitely had her attention.

He hummed. “Do you want me to be honest?”

“Obviously.”

“Some of the team feel like you don’t really want to be here,” he decided to grant her wish. “Of course, I also have no way of knowing how you really feel about us either. But after seeing your efforts in training this past week, I thought you might not be as distant as you make yourself out to be.”

She sighed. Was that it? Despite his charming looks, he really was a conniving person. And perceptive, too - not that she’d compliment him aloud. “Listen, I’m not going to push you guys away nor am I going to get closer to you guys on purpose. I’m a go-with-the-flow type of person.”

“Is that so?” He nodded, as if he expected that answer. “Then, there’s nothing wrong with manipulating the flow a little, right?”

She glanced towards the team, who definitely had a different energy compared to before. There was even a third-year transfer from Germany who decided to join after witnessing the match yesterday; he was well over six feet tall - it was one of the height factors Masako had been looking for.

“Your idea helped this team,” Himuro continued when she didn’t speak. “Even if you didn’t intend it to be.”

“Actually, I did,” she corrected. “Even if I don’t play, Masacoach gave me the job. As your manager, isn’t it my duty to make sure I do my best?” Erika huffed. “From the looks of it, it was a good plan.”

Even if it came out with unexpected results. Not that she’d admit it, of course.

“Why don’t you eat lunch with us sometime?” Himuro offered. “Liu and Atsushi wouldn’t mind an extra person around. You’re already getting along with Liu anyway, and Atsushi does need more people who know how he works around him. Since you’re both the same age, it’d be good for him to have more friends.”

She didn’t respond immediately. Her eyes searched for the aforementioned players, who were occupied in drills. Liu Wei happened to glance towards her and he waved briefly, a smile forming on his apathetic face. Murasakibara was yawning off to the side.

“Sure,” she agreed. “I do owe Sushi-senpai those cupcakes.”


	3. the parable of the foreigners.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it turns out america isn't the only one who treats their foreigners differently, but erika thought it probably was just a facet of human nature, in the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mhnnn another old thing i'm sprucing up, i honestly cannot write his archaic language to save my LIFE lmao at least we all know he talks with something extra just cuz fukui decided to mess with him.
> 
> full disclaimer i like fukui but i'm gonna mess with him in a later chapter cuz i just. gotta poke fun at him for thinking it was a good idea to mess with liu wei :^)
> 
> i enjoyed this chapter mostly cuz i enjoy liu wei's character.... honestly fujimaki did the bare minimum with him in canon tsk (fills the gaps in with my headcanons that probably don't make sense)

* * *

(they're speaking in chinese for this segment, italics are japanese)

* * *

Erika sighed, resting her hands on her hip as she watched Liu Wei conversing with a bunch of girls. Apparently, he had mumbled something about ‘TPO’ and went off, leaving her to look after their school bags. She didn’t think that showing him a new Chinese place that opened would’ve led to this - all she wanted was a taste of home, and he had been excited too.

… But what was this strange acronym, and why did he decide to do it after they had arrived at the restaurant?

Maybe it has something to do with the way he talks, she thought to herself. After waiting for ten minutes, she noticed that the line for the restaurant had decreased. Giving a shrug, she walked up to Liu Wei and grabbed his arm.

“Alright, Wei-ge, your flirting endeavor is over, let’s go eat before I starve and get mad.”

Liu Wei waved solemnly at the girls - she had no idea what their expressions were, but Erika decided to not press into that further as she dragged him into the restaurant. He cleared his throat.

“Sorry, A-Xiang, but it was a good opportunity to TPO.”

“What does that even mean?”

“Turn Passion On,” he declared readily. Erika shot him a look as they were seated, but he seemed to not be aware or not care. “Well, it originally means Turn Passion Off - this was what Fukui had told me. But I determined it was a good idea to turn it on, seeing as we are away from school and there were beautiful women waiting outside.”

“Fukui again…” The name had cropped up a few times in conversations, though not only with Liu Wei. Erika leaned forward, placing her chin on her propped up hand. “He’s your graduated senior, right?”

Liu Wei nodded. “He was the one who gave me much needed advice my first year here.”

“Advice like what?”

“A-Xiang should try it too, so you can get more friends.”

She made a point of snorting.

“When speaking Japanese, speaking archaically is trendy.” He nodded seriously, as if reciting one of the Bible verses from school. “I’ve made many friends this way. Of course, we haven’t gotten close like A-Xiang, but I’m told I’m fun to hang out with.”

_ More like funny to hang out with _ , she sighed to herself. So that explained his unusual way of speaking, sounding more stilted than anything. Even she had noticed when she first talked to him, and she didn’t completely understand the nuances behind the language.

… Still, what kind of ridiculous lie had he been told, and upheld this entire time? Erika ordered for the both of them, seeing as Liu Wei had tried to flirt with the server (she smacked his arm for that).

“Wei-ge,” she started. Normally, she wouldn’t interfere, but it gave her a sense of secondhand embarrassment whenever he did speak. “It’s not trendy.”

“Hm?”

“Have you heard anyone else speak the way you do at all?” This was gentle enough, right? She much preferred being upfront with him, but perhaps it was the sense of camaraderie of shared heritage she had with him - she at least would be more tactful this time.

He blinked slowly, as if the realization had suddenly occurred to him. “Well, no.”

Erika looked like she was suffocating. “So…? You realize it now, right? That Fukui was just joking with you.”

“He told me he wasn’t lying though,” Liu Wei defended his senior. Erika palmed her own face.

“That’s what I say all the time when I’m lying,” she replied bluntly. “Wei-ge, you get scary when you’re vengeful. I’m pretty sure he did it to save his own ass.”

She didn’t know Fukui, but she had a pretty good handle on Liu Wei. Although, she can’t say that she was really feeling all that defensive of Fukui either.

Liu Wei still didn’t look convinced. “Perhaps you have not been talking to the right people. If it were not trendy, then he would’ve told me.”

Erika scowled. “Fine, suit yourself.”

“Here, I will prove it.”

“Wha-”

Liu Wei made a point of standing up, approaching a table of Japanese people and switching to their language. Erika watched with dry amusement, able to hear their conversation completely. Liu Wei really was more naive than she had thought. She didn’t understand why he decided to take in the advice of someone just for the sake of being trendy and fitting-

She stopped her train of thoughts. No, she supposed she did understand it. Even in America, if you weren’t part of the crowd, you were an outlier, and outliers that stood out weren’t received well. She had been fortunate to be born and raised in it, but some of her classmates weren’t; their accented English had never been received well.

Thinking of it made her skin bristle. As she watched Liu Wei talk, with the Japanese people looking like they didn’t really know how to handle him, she sighed.

_ I don’t like judging people if I haven’t met them _ , she thought.  _ But if this Fukui guy really lied to Wei-ge about this, then I really hate those kinds of people _ . Lying to someone who didn’t know better about the culture just for the sake of his own amusement - a bitter feeling was left on her tongue as Liu Wei returned, looking highly accomplished, and just in time for their food to come.

“See? They liked me.”

Erika stared at him silently, and his half-amused smile slowly faded as he began to grow nervous. Whenever she looked at him like that, he half-expected a lecture.

When she pinched the bridge of her nose, he relaxed.

“Let’s just eat.”

* * *

It wasn’t like he hadn’t noticed it, no. Liu Wei was aware that he was the only one who spoke this formally, and when Fukui had almost let it slip that he lied, he had truly been hurt that day. Still, it hadn’t stopped his efforts, and Liu Wei decided that there was no harm in continuing being the way he was.

Of course, a good part of him still believed that it really was the norm to flirt with girls ‘in the right timing’, and some people did speak formally like he did. He was so ingrained in these habits that he hadn’t questioned it again, until Erika decided to point it out.

She acted distant, but she was certainly the opposite of that. Perhaps she’s concerned, he mused, and with that fleeting thought he had reached over and rubbed the top of her head. She jumped, hastily slurping the beef noodle and giving him a wary look.

“I’m not a pet.”

“That is not why I decided to do that,” he said, stoic as always. “I was just thinking, A-Xiang is really cute like a little sister. Defending your older brother is the right thing to do.”

She rolled her eyes. “You know, if this were a scenario like a Chinese drama, this is the part where I cry that you’re sister-zoning me.”

Liu Wei stopped rubbing her head. “Ah.”

“What?”

“I apologize, A-Xiang, I didn’t realize you felt that way towards m-”

She immediately grabbed a xiaolongbao and shoved it in his mouth. “If you finish that sentence, what I just ate is coming right back up.”

He chewed through the food. “Hmm.”

She rubbed her forehead in exasperation. “How come every conversation I have with you somehow steers back towards romance?”

“I want a lover,” he replied blankly. “After coming here, I realized what was missing from my experiences was the passionate rendezvous of interacting with a significant other.”

Erika rubbed her ears. “We’re still speaking Chinese, right?”

“Yes?”

“Because that just sounded weird.”

He huffed. “A-Xiang wouldn’t understand since you're new to Japan, but I’ve grown terribly lonely. Flirting with both girls and boys has not secured me a date. Meanwhile Himuro grows more popular with every waking moment…!” Now he truly looked invigorated, looking like he wanted to cry. “To be blessed with ethereal beauty!”

Erika watched his monologue with barely concealed amusement. “Can’t you just ask someone out?”

“Ah, but therein lies the trap.” Liu Wei lightly pounded his fist on the table. He could tell she wanted to laugh. “A date, what lies in a date? No, I must first find someone suitable to my preferences. Then I must get to know them, and by the time I’ve found my soulmate, I must marry them.”

She leaned back in her chair. “Sounds complicated. In America, people went on dates all the time. A lot of them for fun were no real intention of becoming actual lovers.”

Liu Wei looked intrigued. “Including A-Xiang?”

“Ehhh,” she looked away. “Do study dates count?”

He blinked in surprise. “Studying? There are things like study dates?” He paused. “Wait, more like - I didn’t know you were the studious type.”

There, she finally looked offended. “I’m smart.”

“I am aware, but A-Xiang truly does not look like.... A bookworm? Ah, like a nerd.”

She tossed a slice of cucumber at him. “Shut up.”

He laughed. “In any case, it seems there you cannot give me advice.”

“Actually-” She stopped him there. “I’m very experienced.” She patted her bag, where her PS Vita rested. “Otome games give me a realm of expertise way past what you’re used to.”

She said that with complete certainty. Liu Wei arched an eyebrow, waiting for her usual teasing glint to come back - but it had not. She wholeheartedly believed in those words.

He restrained laughter, only a muffled snicker slipped past his lips. Well, perhaps she wouldn’t be suited to be their manager if she didn’t have something weird she believed in too.

“Why are you laughing?”

“I’m not.”

“You totally are!”

“I’m not allowed to laugh, but you are?”

She paused, seriously contemplating that. “Obviously.” But the grin she had on her face said otherwise. Liu Wei merely shook his head. She truly suited the role of the devilish little sister more for him.

He smiled fondly, reaching over and ruffling her hair again. A protest left her mouth at that as she swatted at his arm. Truthfully, Liu Wei wasn’t usually an expressive person, but he did miss his family in China, from his endearingly annoying little brothers to his nagging (with good intentions) parents.

Erika was the closest to that. Perhaps he had been blessed in a different way this year.

* * *

( from here on italics are chinese and regular is. well japanese)

* * *

Waiting at the school gates, Liu Wei and Erika kept glancing towards the direction of the gym. It had been ten minutes since practice ended, but Murasakibara and Himuro were still discussing one of their double-ace strategies with Masako, and Himuro had told his two teammates to go ahead and wait for them outside.

“ _ Maybe we should wait for them at the cafe _ ,” she said after another minute had passed. “ _ I’ll message them. We can get a table that way. Sushi-senpai’s regular item always takes so long to make. _ ”

Her Chinese senpai nodded in agreement. “ _ A good point. Then, we go _ .”

Erika grinned. “ _ Are you going to try anything new? _ ” 

They began walking, conversing casually in their other shared language, Chinese. Liu Wei had been more comfortable speaking in this language with Erika, and she hadn’t minded the accommodation because she was more familiar with it as well. Of course, she was careful where they spoke it. While she didn’t particularly care about what other people thought about her, if she dragged Liu Wei into it, she might have been unable to control her saccharine tongue anyway.

Ironic how she had been musing over this just as they passed through the park on the way to the restaurant. She noticed the group of students standing off to the side but didn’t pay them much attention. Continuing her conversation with Liu Wei, right when they passed by, she heard that snide remark.

“Look at them, talking in Chinese like they’re better than us.”

Erika ignored them, making the decision that if she were to quip back like she usually would, it would only turn into trouble, and she was more concerned with getting to the restaurant. However, Liu Wei obviously couldn’t let it pass. He stopped, turning his gray gaze onto them.

“Excuse me?”

“Wei-ge,” Erika interrupted. “They’re not worth our time.”

“You hear that? She can’t even spare the time to humble her fellow students,” one of them sneered.

“Kagari-san, you’re really too arrogant. Just because you’re a little good at piano, you think you own the school.” 

Erika rolled her eyes and kept tugging on Liu Wei’s arm, silently trying to convince him to keep on walking. Because Liu Wei was here, she didn’t feel like allowing the situation to escalate. However, her teammate had other plans -- by insulting Erika, Liu Wei just appeared to get more defiant.

“When has A--- Erika ever said that?” He argued, stopping himself on the nickname. He didn’t want to give these people more things to use.

“She doesn’t need to talk - it’s written all over her face,” they pointed out.

“I mean, if I weren’t good at piano, I wouldn’t be here being bullied by you, right?”

Feeling that they couldn’t out-talk Erika, they turned their attention to Liu Wei. “And just because you’re tall, you got accepted by the basketball team. You can’t even speak good Japanese.” A condescending nod to Liu Wei next to her. “You foreigners don’t belong here.”

Her smile dropped. Erika knew how to pick her fights - she was good at winning, or at least, pissing people off to where they would burst a vein. She also didn’t waste her time with fruitless fights, and this would be one of them.

But they touched on one of her sore spots. Knowing that Liu Wei had been struggling for two years at this school, with a new language and culture, doing his best to fit in, even to the point where he would continue speaking in a ridiculous manner -

Erika smiled. Poisonous sweetness spilled from her lips as she spoke. “Are you jealous?”

The unfriendly glares leveled on her now. “What did you say?”

“Last time I checked, Yosen’s little catchall phrase was to recruit all the foreign talent.” She sighed, as if she were lamenting that fact. “Wouldn’t that mean that you Japanese people are lacking so much that your country has to resort to outsiders saving your face?”

Maybe she spoke too much. She deserved that slap to her face, not only for her current words but perhaps for all the time she might have trolled someone else. Still, it didn’t mean that it didn’t hurt. Erika stumbled - she expected to get hit, of course, but because of her weak physical constitution, she couldn’t hold herself steady.

“A-Xiang!” Liu Wei shouted, reaching out and helping his manager catch her footing. His hands grasped her shoulders and he turned, raising an arm only to be caught unexpectedly by a swing to his right cheek.

“Were you going to fight back?” The male student sneered. Liu Wei’s hand went over to rub at his face, gaze darkening over.

“ _ You son of a bitch _ ,” he hissed. He let go of Erika and straightened his back. His companion quickly caught onto his arm before he could swing it.

“Liu Weixun,” she gritted out sternly. “ _ If you fight them here, you’re the one getting in trouble! _ ”

“ _ He hit you! _ ” 

“ _ He hit both of us, _ ” she corrected. “ _ And if we don’t do anything, then we’re the victims and we won’t get in trouble, but if you fight back then you’re just going to get skinned by Masacoach and the faculty! We’re the foreigners here, remember that! _ ”

“Guo Juxiang!  _ We may not be Japanese citizens, but we’re still a part of this school! _ ” Liu Wei’s voice sounded strained, torn between anger and sadness. “ _ Are you saying you won’t defend that? _ ”

She flinched. Her whole motto to herself when coming here was that she wouldn’t get attached. She didn’t belong here and she would be leaving eventually. Yet that all crumbled to pieces when she found friends in the club, and as much as she would never admit it, she  _ had  _ gotten attached. Yet it was for that reason she didn’t want to compromise their position at the school. It didn’t matter which country - they were loyal to their own people first and they, the foreigners, caused trouble: it would only turn against them.

She knew that Liu Wei and her wouldn’t win on the discipline side.  _ Why can’t he think about this rationally?  _

“What are they saying?” One of the students muttered to another. They shrugged and nudged the male student, enticing him to continue the fight. He seemed to hesitate before taking a step forward, placing a hand on Erika’s shoulder.

“Hey, we’re not done here yet.”

“I am, so don’t touch me,” Erika growled. She tugged her shoulder out of his grasp just as the male student suddenly fell backwards.

No - more like  _ someone  _ had pushed him backwards.

“Get your hands off her.”

Erika’s eyes widened in surprise as they rested on the familiar back of Himuro.

“Eri-chin…” Behind her, she felt Murasakibara’s large hand gently trying to turn her. His usual apathetic expression was brimming with irritation when they met gazes. “Ahh… it’s a big bruise.”

“Sushi-senpai?” 

“Himuro-san?” The group of students exclaimed, recoiling in shock. Erika turned her head just as Himuro did to look at her, hearing Murasakibara’s uncanny remark of concern. His gaze landed on the bruise forming on her cheek and the droplets of blood from her mouth. Then he glanced towards Liu Wei, who had resigned to Erika’s hand tugging him down to step back. His lip was split and bleeding but he seemed to be a little better off than their manager.

If Murasakibara’s face had stunned her, then Himuro’s expression was jaw-dropping. His normally calm, placid demeanor was boiling with rage. She noticed that when he turned back to the students, his expression had simmered down so quickly. His mastery of his expression control was almost frightening.

“I saw everything you did. Apologize to both of them,  _ now _ .” His hand clenched into fists and there was clear annoyance in his voice. It felt like at any moment, he could actually punch the student in front of them. Erika knew that would be a bad idea, and while she wasn’t against the idea of retribution, doing it in a crowd went against the reason she decided to stop Liu Wei.

“Why are you defending the foreigners, Himuro-san?” Still, ignorance was a shared trait among admirers of the popular third-year. Maybe it was because they couldn’t tell he was pissed. She’d call them stupid though - if they paid attention to his tone of voice, he was barely concealing irritation.

But Erika would like to know the answer to their question too. She watched, allowing Murasakibara to lick the pad of his thumb and wiping the blood from her mouth.

“‘S okay, Eri-chin, they won’t hit him.”

Erika ignored how unsanitary Murasakibara’s gesture had been. She was more concerned about what would happen to Himuro if he kept intimidating those students like that. In fact, with the student’s response to his demand, Himuro had reared his arm back, as if he would actually throw a punch.

“Otome-senpai,” she said tersely. 

To her surprise, he stopped. Something akin to guilt flashed across his face when they met eyes.

The commotion had gathered other students, and soon enough the teachers came rushing by as well. Fear ran down the basketball club’s spines when they spotted their coach among them.

“You four. Office. Now.” Masako gritted out chillingly.

No one could really argue with that.

* * *

Maybe it was bias, but Himuro surprisingly… had gotten off with a slap of the wrist from the school itself. Erika knew his good looks were frighteningly universal, but that was still an impressive feat. Well, Himuro had only shoved the student away from Erika, so it was more than what the male student could say for himself - he had been the only one to technically land a blow.

Now Masako, on the other hand, wasn’t so lenient. Although Himuro hadn’t punched the student, he still was involved. She also scolded Erika for taunting the students, Murasakibara for not stopping them, and Liu Wei for not listening to Erika’s pleas (when she had tried to defend herself by saying she told Liu Wei to leave).

Being reprimanded with words was tolerable. It was the physical labor that followed after. They were instructed to clean the gym and then run their laps outside when they were done. There wasn’t much protest, although Erika had a feeling Murasakibara would be slacking. She managed to convince him to work a little harder when reminding him that they were still supposed to go to the sweets cafe.

It was silent for a while in the gym. Himuro was cleaning the basketballs and Liu Wei was conversing with Murasakibara off to the side as they swept the gym floor with mops. She scratched at the bandage on her face - it felt weird but she could deal with it. How lucky that Liu Wei only got away with a split lip (maybe she just bruised too easily).

With a sigh, she decided to bite the bullet and approach Himuro.  “It’s my first time seeing Otome-senpai annoyed,” she joked casually. At that, Himuro couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Is it now? I guess there’s some things Erika-chan doesn’t know.”

“The fighting definitely took me by surprise.”

Himuro flinched and Erika’s grin faltered.

“Uh, sorry, maybe that was too much.”

“It’s fine, it’s not like you’re wrong.”

Erika bit the inside of her cheek. She leaned down, picking up a basketball and deciding to help him in polishing some.  “Otome-senpai, I appreciate you standing up for me. For us,” she added as a correction. She glanced over to Liu Wei, who was seeming to escalate into scolding Murasakibara (she wondered what for). “Thank you. And… I’m sorry.”

Himuro blinked in surprise. Then he smiled. “There’s no need for thanks. And I brought this punishment on myself, so you also don’t need to apol-”

“No, I do. For both.” She shook her head. “You’re Japanese. We’re Chinese - I mean, I’m half but I’m still pretty ingrained in that part of me. Obviously, that had to put you in a tough spot when it came to us versus your fellow Japanese students-”

“We’re a team,” Himuro corrected. “You and Liu, you’re both my teammates. Of course I would be on your side. Besides, what those people said was entirely unreasonable. I wouldn’t agree with them even if we weren’t members of the same club.”

“You heard them?”

“It’s part of why we came over.”

Erika’s face flushed and she looked away. “Then that’s more reason why I should apologize. What I said, about Japanese people lacking so much, I don’t really think that.”

Himuro tilted his head. “I know you don’t?”

She snapped her head back, clearly surprised. “You what?”

He laughed. “You’re blunt, Erika-chan, and sometimes sarcastic, but you’re not a bad person.”

Erika fit her finger in her scarf and tugged it upwards. “You don’t know me.”

“I don’t,” he agreed. “But I think I at least know by now that you wouldn’t think that Japanese people are lacking. You’re in the basketball world now, after all.”

“Still, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said it even if I was trying to get under their skin.”

“I don’t think what you said was nearly as bad as what they said,” Himuro spoke up. “I mean, I guess it was arrogant, but you’re apologizing right now. Besides, you were uncomfortable too when that happened.”

She sighed. “Who’s trying to comfort who now?

Himuro gave her a wistful smile. “Well, I’m just looking out for my  _ dear  _ kouhai, aren’t I?”

At that, she gave a wry smile. “Well, my apologies  _ are  _ reserved for the people I think matter.”

“I see,” he hummed. Standing up, he leaned downwards just slightly to put them at eye level. “Then, apology accepted.”

She huffed, meeting his gaze without much issue. “Much better.”

Himuro chuckled, but before he could return to his task, Erika tugged on his sleeve. Now she was averting her gaze.

“You know, you’re impressive and talented too,” she muttered. “You and Sushi-senpai. I didn’t mean what I said to those idiot students, but if I wanted to contradict it, I’d use you two as examples.”

Himuro’s eyes glinted with amusement. “Would you now?”

“I said what I said.” She turned on her heel. “Anyway, I’m going to go thank Sushi-senpai too.”

There was a strange twisting emotion in his chest as he watched her walk off. Then, he chuckled to himself. It was a simple compliment, really, but hearing it from her - who had been adamant in not 'tooting their horns', so to speak, it meant a lot more than he expected. Perhaps this team had been growing on her more than anyone anticipated.

Himuro tilted his head, throwing a clean basketball into the cart. Well, a little change wasn't bad. Actually, he was looking forward to seeing how Yosen would be shaped from here on out.


	4. the parable of ice cream.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> erika and himuro visit a cute ice cream shop in tokyo. (himuro/oc)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my friend showed me this shop where they had really cute animal-shaped ice creams in tokyo and i was like I WANT THEM but i can't because i live in 'murica so i had to, uh, cope with the loss somehow.
> 
> i drew it before i wrote it: https://xisanamii.tumblr.com/post/625949986127020033/self-care-is-getting-ice-cream-or-something
> 
> and then decided to write something with it because even more self-indulgence why not

She squints, a hand rising to shield her eyes from the sun as she attempts to ascertain the location of the ice cream shop they were supposed to meet at. Her primary task in Tokyo today was to find a birthday gift for Liu Wei, but so far her luck hadn’t followed her here. With a sigh, she rubbed the back of her hand to wipe off the sweat dripping down her neck as she crosses the street, finally spotting the shop.

Erika isn’t surprised to see Himuro there first. He likely had already picked a gift since he was attending university in Tokyo, which gave him more time to browse the shops before their planned date today. He had teasingly told her that she was going to spend more time thinking about Liu Wei than him today, especially since she spent the entire morning in Tokyo trying to find his gift.

She had argued that Liu Wei was probably tired of things from Akita, and he had chosen a university in Yokohama, she knew he wouldn’t have had the time to go to the nearby Tokyo to shop (maybe).

That aside, she also isn’t surprised to see the small crowd of people hovering near Himuro. There’s actually more distance between the black-haired man and the random admirers than usual, most likely because he had asserted his personal space. It’s fortunate that it’s grossly hot today, otherwise she’s positive that they wouldn’t have listened.

Himuro spots her and smiles, edging through the crowd. He holds his hand out and she takes it immediately, interlacing their fingers as he presses a kiss to the crown of her head. At the (despairing) sight, the crowd disperses immediately.

“I’m sweaty,” she complains, playfully trying to shoo him off.

“That’s okay,” he hums, tugging her to the inside of the shop. “What are you going to get?”

Her gaze sweeps over the menu, taking in the very cute shapes of the animals. “Riko-san recommended the dog or the bear, but I think that’s just her personal preference…. Oh! The panda is cute.” Then with a grin, she lifts a finger and points. “Ne, Tatsuya-senpai, you should get the unicorn.”

He sighs, more so out of exasperation than disdain. “Should I ask why?”

“Do you dare to?”

“I think I’ll pass this time.”

Erika grins smugly, stepping forward and ordering her ice cream. An idea coming to mind, she requests for the employee to make it in the likeness of Himuro, who merely arches a brow but doesn’t comment. She sees that he fights to let the amusement show on his face when she retrieves her frozen treat -- a panda head, but with only one ‘eye’ visible and chocolate lines to outline his (unreasonable) fringe.

“Very funny,” he mumbles, though his lips are tilted upwards into a slight smile. 

She merely hums, paying for hers before watching Himuro choose her recommendation. He’s leaning forward and whispering something to the employee. She watches the employee get starry-eyed from the closeness (and she rolls her eyes when she sees the employee scoop out a very large base for the head -  _ damn you Tatsuya-senpai, of course you’d get the bigger ice cream _ ). She doubts he’d ask for an increase in size - as an athlete, he tended to limit the amount of sweets he ate.

He looks a little disconcerted but it’s not like he can ask for the employee to rescoop it (well, he can, but they’re already adding the decorations and he decides to give up). 

Erika tilts her head. “What’s with the evil smile on the unicorn?”

“It’s you~.”

“Oh I immediately hate it.”

He has the audacity to chuckle, linking their hands together as they walk outside. She bites into the ice cream and he cringes.

“I thought you weren’t good with cold things.”

“My teeth are frozen but it’s worth it,” she retorts. “It’s so humid in Tokyo, I hate it.”

“You got used to Akita’s snow,” he laughs. “And to think last year you were wearing a fluffy scarf in April.”

“I’m good at adapting.” She tugs on him. “Let me have a bite of yours.”

“I don’t think coconut mixes well with birthday cake.”

“Mine’s not coconut.”

“No?”

“It’s like-” She pauses. “Some kinda mix of cookies and cream or something. I dunno, I didn’t think much of it. Anyway, are you going to give me-”

Her words die in her throat as he leans down and presses his lips to hers; gently, at first, and then he scrapes his teeth lightly over her bottom lip and she yelps in surprise and her mouth opens, allowing his tongue to trace over hers lightly.

“It’s white chocolate with oreos. Interesting combo.” He comments as he pulls away, tongue swiping over his bottom lip to reaffirm the flavor. “How did you mix up white chocolate with cookies and cream?”

She scowls. “Don’t make fun of my palate, the oreos overpowered the white chocolate. I couldn’t even taste your ice cream, you cheater.”

He glances down, slowly taking a bite of his unicorn-shaped treat. “Do you  _ want  _ to taste?” His voice is very much laced with teasing undertones, and Erika has a feeling he doesn’t mean getting to take a bite directly from the unicorn.

“No,” she responds flatly. “I don’t want your nasty drool in my mouth.”

“You sure about that, Eri?” He muses.

“Very sure.”

“You weren’t complaining about that yes--”

**_Stomp_ ** .

He winces, moving his feet away after her heel had crushed it.

“Coach’s training really did make you stronger now.”

She merely huffs in satisfaction. “Just a little. Now, the unicorn.”

“Yes yes, anything for my grumpy panda.”

(She ends up yanking him down for another kiss).


	5. the parable of the otome game.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which the regulars (and past) try out erika's otome games.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am unfortunately incapable of writing something like this without adding in some self-indulgent ship moments, so... himueri is together in this one. not really the main focus, but it's there ;P
> 
> but also thank you rosa for the writing prompt <3 it was fun to write! never miss a chance to do some good roasting~
> 
> a dull reminder that from here on nothing is written in chronological order in terms of timeline with this. let's all be confused together (hopefully the hints i drop entice returnees :^)

The first years let out loud cheers as Okamura came down from his dunk, sweat rolling down his face as he jabbed a thumb at himself.

“Though it’s not as flashy as Murasakibara, with the right technique, anyone can do a dunk!”

“Okamura-senpai is so cool!” They cheered, and even if Okamura wasn’t a member of the club anymore, he still felt rather content with the fact that they acknowledged him as their senior. Fukui weaved in-between poles, smoothly conducting a layup that not a lot of people could keep up with.

“Fukui-senpai!!” The first years clapped, and Okamura held in a wail of despair when their cheers were just a tad bit louder.

“Butt-chin-gorilla-chin, Fukui-chin, are you sure you both should be fooling around like this?” Murasakibara spoke up, tilting his head. “I thought university was supposed to be suuuuper busy.”

“We finished our finals! And why are there two chins in my name again!” Okamura protested.

“Sushi-senpai, we just cleaned the floor. If you make him cry again, who’s gonna take responsibility?” Erika’s voice rang in the air and gazes moved towards the bleachers, where the manager was flopped on her back, head resting on Himuro’s thigh. She was playing her PS Vita again, although by now the club members knew she would be once practice was over.

“Ah, don’t worry, Erika-chan!” Okamura jogged over, thumping his chest softly. “I’ve gotten better thanks to your advice!”

The ‘forbidden’ exchange they had when they first met still remained a mystery to the other members. No matter how much they tried, Okamura didn’t release any details and they all knew it was futile to ask Erika.

But, they still couldn’t help but be curious.

“Hey hey, Himuro, are you fine with this? She’s keeping secrets from you!” Fukui pointed out, more teasing than anything. Himuro shrugged lightly, his hands softly stroking the crown of her head.

“She could plot my murder and I’d be fine with that.”

“That joke isn’t funny, Otome-senpai.” Regardless, Erika’s sharp gaze shifted away from her game to Fukui. “That aside though, Fukui-san, are you trying to pick a fight with me?”

Her dark gaze sent a shiver down his spine. Remember how sharp her tongue was and how vengeful she had been before, he merely shook his head and laughed.

“So, are you playing a new game?” He wasn’t the type to be entirely deterred, even if his familiarity with Erika was minimal at best.

“Mhn, yeah. It’s a new release. One good thing about being in Japan is that the otome games here get released faster than if I were in America. English localizations always take so long.”

“Is that the only good thing about Japan?” Liu Wei cut in, an amused glint in his dark-colored eyes. “And I would imagine thou would have many more reasons to enjoy the country.”

Erika waved him off. “Ssh. Don’t ruin my cool image, Wei-ge.”

“I’m hungry,” Murasakibara spoke up. “Should we go to the new cafe? I saved coupons. I’ll treat Butt-chin-gorilla-chin and Fukui-chin too, since you’re visiting.”

“Murasakibara…!” Okamura’s eyes filled up with tears. “You really do c-”

“You look funny when you cry, Chin-gorilla-senpai-butt-chin.”

“The cursed nickname got longer!”

“Otome-senpai, carry me.” Erika didn’t move from her spot, fingers flying across the buttons to catch up with the steps (why did they add some kind of rhythm mode to this game?), gaze focused on the screen.

“Eri, you shouldn’t play games when we’re walking,” he scolded playfully. 

“It’s okay, I know you’ll keep me from walking onto a busy intersection.”

“Is that… flirting?” Fukui muttered to Liu Wei, who didn’t have much of a reaction to the questionable exchange between the pair of lovers.

“They care about each other,” he sighed wistfully. “Mayhaps the day shall come when I can exchange meaningful words of love between fated lovers.”

In the end, Erika had put her game away, walking up to Murasakibara and starting up a conversation about the history class they had together, while Himuro fell back to catch up with Okamura on university life (ah, yes, Himuro was preparing for entrance exams).

_ … Yosen hasn’t changed at all from having weird people on the team, _ Fukui thought to himself. Still, he couldn’t find it in himself to truly hate it. With a short laugh, he followed after the group.

The first one to directly insert himself into the taboo of Erika playing otome games  was Murasakibara.

Everyone was shaken.

Truthfully, he’d been enticed by the CG of one of the characters cooking together and making sweets. By chance, he’d read the dialogue and found that they were discussing how to make pudding, and the recipe seemed easy enough to make.

“Eri-chin, can you help me record the recipe?”

She arched an eyebrow. “Why do you want it?”

“Kinda wanna try baking…”

Erika paused. Normally, she wouldn’t mind, but then another idea rang in her mind. “Actually, for this person’s route, his dream is to become a pastry chef. There’s a lot of recipes in here since he cooks for the heroine. Why don’t you try playing? You have a good memory.”

“Don’t be silly, Kagari.” Fukui scoffed. “Murasakibara would never-”

Murasakibara reached over and Erika placed the game console in his large hands, having started a new save file already. Fukui choked on his soda. The rest of the group was unphased, continuing to nibble on their respective meals.

Although Liu Wei seemed to have an opinion. “Hmm, I do seem to wonder if Murasakibara will be able to successfully capture the heart of the love interest. I have heard that in the games A-Xiang plays, it varies in difficulty.”

Erika leaned forward on her arms, mouth brushing against the straw of her milkshake. “This one should be easy enough. I conquered all the routes on the first try.”

“I thought you were playing the new game?”

“I was. I changed games.”

“He’s kinda mean, Eri-chin,” Murasakibara complained. “How come he’s calling me an idiot? I’ll show you who’s an idiot…”

“He’s the--” She stopped herself. “Well, if I tell you his trope, it’ll hardly be fair. You can do it, Sushi-senpai. Think of the recipes.”

“Isn’t there a nicer guy than him?”

“Well, yeah, but the peppy love interest doesn’t bake.”

Liu Wei watched Murasakibara navigate through the dialogue, fingers pressing to his chin in contemplation. “... Murasakibara. Let me play after you.”

Fukui coughed. “Liu, what?”

Liu Wei ignored Fukui and glanced towards Erika for permission. She waved him off with a casual nod and then leaned over, resting her head on Himuro’s shoulder.

“This cafe is open twenty-four hours, so knock yourselves out.”

Himuro hummed, sliding his arm around her waist and tugging her closer. “At least we won’t get kicked out.”

Erika glanced over to Murasakibara. “I think you’ll be able to get a good end, Sushi-senpai. Fukui-san will get a bad end.”

Fukui coughed again. “Why are you bullying me?”

Erika narrowed her eyes and he decided to stop speaking.

“Himuro will also get a good end,” Okamura added. “Popular in real life, popular in game… there is no end to your charisma, is there?”

It was supposed to be a compliment, but somehow the bitterness underlying that didn’t make it sound like one. Himuro felt himself sweat just slightly.

“He’s probably gonna woo the true route character,” Erika yawned. “Seems like the type to fall for him. Although the games take a long time to play…” Then she sat up, removing her head from Himuro’s shoulder and digging into her bag. “I have my phone and my DS, actually, I can set two of you up to-”

Liu Wei blanched. “Three consoles? A-Xiang, is Himuro not satisfying you enough?”

Erika stilled and there was a tense silence at the table. Then Erika grabbed a cream puff and flung it at Liu Wei.

“ _ Why are you like this, shut up, I’ll pull your tongue out. _ ” She all but cursed in Chinese, her expression aloof and tone of voice even, but her words contained a very sharp bite to them. The others aside from Liu Wei obviously had no idea what she said. Was she actually answering him? Himuro couldn’t help but tense, wondering if he really wasn’t romantically satisfactory for Erika, and Fukui was alternating his gazes between Erika and Liu Wei, trying to see if their expressions would betray their conversation (but no, Liu Wei was already an apathetic person and Erika had very good control of her facial expressions, there was no winning here).

Okamura was blushing though, attempting to scold Liu Wei but the reprimands fell on deaf ears.

Erika glanced at Himuro’s expression, which remained calm despite the implications of Liu Wei’s words (but of course no one expected any different).

“Anyway.” She switched back to Japanese, handing her DS to Okamura. “Let’s see if you all can get the good ends. I’m gonna rate you based on how many CGs you get in the route.”

“Are you just gonna not tell us the answer to Liu’s question?” Fukui spoke up curiously. At that, she leveled a sharp glare and his words died in his throat immediately.

“And you can play on the phone, Fukui-san.” The way his name rolled off her lips made him feel like she was the Grim Reaper. He merely nodded and took it, engulfing himself in the game immediately.

Erika huffed, leaning back against Himuro’s shoulder. They were silent for a while before Himuro decided to bite the bullet.

“ _ So, was Liu right? _ ” He asked in English. The syllable of Liu Wei’s name had the small forward glancing towards the couple, to which Erika waved him off casually as if to assure him they weren’t badmouthing him.

“ _ He was wrong _ ,” she responded, and then she tugged her scarf upwards, effectively covering the lower half of her face. “ _ If you make me explain more than that, I’ll pinch you _ .”

Well, Himuro was content enough with her answer anyway. With a hum, he pressed a kiss to the crown of her head and watched the three men engage so casually with the otome games the manager presented to them.

About an hour later, Murasakibara let out a long suffering sigh.

“Ahh, finally, he kissed the heroine with the ice cream.”

Erika let out a whistle. “The True Love end? Not bad, Sushi-senpai, not bad at all. Did you get all the recipes too?”

“How many are there?”

“Twenty for the true love end.”

He nodded, handing over her console. In exchange, she slid over a slice of crepe cake, to which he happily began to dig into.

“Here you go, Otome-senpai.” She started a new file and gave the game to Himuro, who merely arched an eyebrow.

“Do I really have to?”

“You’re not Otome-senpai if you don’t do this.”

“I possibly would not mind it if you dropped the nickname.”

“Not gonna happen. Now play.”

“Yes ma’am.”

The banter not being anything new, Himuro started pressing buttons. Soon enough, Liu Wei finished his route and handed the DS to Okamura, who had been eager to play. His expression fell when he realized Erika didn’t have any harem games - that is, all the love interests were boys. How had everyone else been unphased?

“Hmm…”

“Gender doesn’t matter, just go from their personalities,” Erika reminded him, noting his downcast expression (how did she figure him out so quickly despite only meeting him a few times?).

He gave a solid nod. “Right! It’s just a game.”

“Well, not my point, but whatever helps you sleep at night.”

More minutes passed (more like hours, Erika noted that they had managed to order so much food, and even if they were going to split the bill, her wallet had already started to hurt).

Himuro let out a curse. All eyes turned to him and he stiffened, attempting to hide the screen, but Erika had grabbed onto his wrist before he could do so.

“Otome-senpai, the heroine is dead.”

“Yeah, I can see that.”

“The Tragic Love End.”

Himuro frowned. “....hn.”

Okamura blanched completely, staring at him incredulously. “That can’t be right, Erika-chan, are you sure?”

Erika shot him a look as if to say ‘are you really doubting me’ before glancing at Himuro again. Fukui had been engrossed in his game and finally finished, showing off his Good End, which invigorated Himuro even more. Opening her mouth, he interrupted her before she could possibly make a scathing or comforting comment.

“Let me try a different route.”

Those words caught her by surprise. “You’re what?”

Okamura quietly turned his screen, displaying the Happy Love end. Himuro refrained a scowl and dove into the game he was playing again, aiming to seduce a different love interest. The others had their fill of games -- mostly because after finishing one route, they felt exhausted. Just how did Erika burn through all those games without flinching, the range of cliches or cringey flirting or straightforward love confessions, they wouldn’t know, but it didn’t suit the image they had of her. At the same time, her reasoning also made sense.

That is, her desire to control and her pridefulness in conquering.

Liu Wei shivered. Sometimes their manager scared him. But fortunately he didn’t need to linger on those thoughts as the topic of the conversation shifted to something more casual, with Fukui deciding to talk about university life again (in an effort to decrease the pressure on Himuro, honestly, though now that he thought about it, he wondered if talking about university would make it more stressful in the long run).

At some point, Erika had gotten out her homework with a sigh and began working on it casually. She normally would’ve preferred to work on it in a quieter environment, but it didn’t seem like they’d be leaving anytime soon.

An hour later, Himuro completed another route (Erika heard the gunshots from the game), and she turned to him.

“Otome-senpai-”

“How many love interests are there?”

“Well, five, but-”

“Can I play again?” He asked, frowning lightly.

She hesitated. Well, it was only Saturday, so it wasn’t like they had anything important to do, but she glanced towards their friends. “I don’t mind, but…”

“Do go on,” Liu Wei reassured, looking rather invested in this. “I find it incredibly intriguing the rates of Himuro’s failures.”

“Liu!” Okamura scolded, the former captain huffing in defense of the current captain. “It’s only been two routes, I’m sure he’ll be able to seduce someone else!”

“I got pastry chef on the first try though,” Murasakibara pointed out. “Maybe Muro-chin isn’t suited for games like this.”

“What a bad joke Murasakibara!” Fukui laughed. “Himuro is so popular, that hasn’t changed even if I graduated! A couple of 2D people in a game can’t be that hard for him.”

Himuro’s gaze darkened and he didn’t comment as he started another save file. Fukui’s laughter faded, realizing that his joking comment wasn’t seen as such.

Erika sighed. “You guys have too much free time.”

“So do you, A-Xiang.”

“I -- shut up.”

Murasakibara leaned over the table, eyeing Erika’s homework.

“That’s the history homework, right?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty easy if you did the reading.”

“I didn’t.”

“Sushi-senpai, go read it. We’ll be here a while.”

“I don’t have my-”

**_Plop_ ** .

Murasakibara scowled as Erika pushed the reading book over. “Don’t wanna.”

Erika motioned to the parfait she had just ordered and he paused.

“... Okay.”

If he just put in the effort, she had no doubt he’d be able to move up in the ranks easily. Still, she supposed his current rank of ten wasn’t bad (it had dropped from last year apparently, not that he was in a position to complain). Thinking about how he was innately a genius didn’t really help her own thoughts though, so she shook them out and glanced towards Himuro, whose furrowed brow was the only indication he was frustrated with how the routes were going.

_ Charisma in real life doesn’t work in games, huh? _ She mused. Leaning against his arm lightly, she felt her heart jump as he leaned against her in return. Although it was subtle and unnoticeable by the others, she still felt it. With a huff, she decided to maintain her position there, dubbing a break from the homework as necessary (but sneakily glancing at the game screen here and there to gauge the choices he made).

The screen flashed red before it revealed another bloody CG. Himuro let out another curse.

“Why does every bad end in this game end up with someone dying?”

“It’s a game with guns,” she explained casually. “It’s inevitable.”

Liu Wei let out a hum. “I see we have found something that Himuro’s ethereal beauty does not work in.”

“It’s a game, Liu-chin,” Murasakibara pointed out, not glancing up from the book.

“Yes, but with his beauty comes a charisma capable of toppling empires and countries,” Liu Wei replied seriously. “One would think that it would translate well into the games.”

“More like he probably just takes his charisma for granted,” Fukui snorted.

Again, charisma was normally a complimentary word, but why did Himuro feel like he was getting roasted instead? With a subtle twitch of his lips, he merely turned the game off and handed it back to Erika with a sigh.

“Maybe they’re right.”

Erika was silent, and everyone assumed she was thinking of a way to join the roasting. Then she gave a halfhearted shrug and leaned up.

“Well, you don’t really need to win in 2D games. I’m better than some 2D guys,” she said teasingly, her words nearly an exact parallel to his own words he had spoken when he had confessed to her before. Before anyone could react, she had planted a quick peck on his lips, light and teasing yet meant to comfort, before she hummed and pulled away. “Japan doesn’t accept tips, right? A shame, I do feel kinda bad for the servers since we’ve been here so long. Let me see if I can’t persuade them.”

Himuro cleared his throat, ignoring the fact that his cheeks were definitely flushed red. “Well.”

Liu Wei narrowed his eyes, acting much like a brother who just saw his innocent sister do something indecent. “Hnn.”

Okamura held in his tears, determined not to cry. 

Fukui whistled slowly. “So she can be considerate when she wants to be, huh?”

Well, she was actually snickering to herself as she walked up to the counter, but no one needed to know that. Fukui found himself eating his words when she had tried to shove some yen bills down the server’s shirt to try and get them to accept the tip after paying though.

Murasakibara closed the book, deciding he had enough of history, and tugged on Erika’s scarf in a tired effort to get her to stop terrorizing the poor server. “Eri-chin, I wanna come back to this cafe another day, don’t get us banned.”

“Alright, fine, I’ll try to tip another day then.” She relented, cleaning up her school materials and shoving them into her bag. As the group prepared to leave, Liu Wei leaned down and whispered.

“A-Xiang.”

“Hmm?”

“ _ You aren’t allowed to marry Himuro until you’re twenty-five years old, okay? _ ”

“ _ Wei-ge what the hell. _ ”


	6. the parable of takao's younger sister.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> erika shows takao's little sister a character that resembles a certain green-haired shooting guard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> implied midotaka i guess? this is uhh different from the theme of my usual ficlets laughs rabbit named takao's little sister suzume, so it's kinda like... their canon-oc? in a way? help i have no idea how to write characters outside of yosen because i can do what i want with yosen as they have little content
> 
> this is, well, dedicated to rabbit anyway B) just a brief summary, erika and takao are established friends (cuz... rp lore oop) which is why this might be different than what yall are used to. we will return to our regularly scheduled yosen content... next update
> 
> .... i really just enjoy giving erika non-blood related sibling relationships huh. must be the elder sister in me speaking N)

When it came to dealing with certain types of people, Erika usually followed a certain formula. The category of ‘friends’ was still developing - it wasn’t like she hadn’t made any friends before, but it was… somehow different. That, and the person she was dealing with was in another realm of sociability she knew by proxy but never fully engaged with herself.

Nonetheless, she stood a little ways away from the entrance of the house, staring down at her phone as she waited for Takao Kazunari to answer her very meaningful text.

[ scarf lord: so… you wouldn’t happen to be home, would you? ]

[ kazunori: erika-chan i swear to god if you’re outside my home ]

[ scarf lord: i happened to be in the area ]

[ scarf lord: be nice to your friend who came all the way from akita :) ]

She snickered to herself. As friendly as Takao was, she could imagine him with a frustrated look on his face and having to explain that to Midorima, who he likely was with right now. It was inconsequential, of course, if they didn’t get to hang out today. The next train back to Akita was in the evening, and she figured Himuro would be spending most of his day catching up with Kagami, while Liu Wei and Murasakibara were off hunting for food, snacks, or clothes - she could just go third-wheel one of them if she really needed to.

[ kazunori: okay i let suzu know that you’re coming over, she’ll let you inside ]

[ kazunori: i’ll bring shin-chan over once we’re done running errands ]

Sure, Midorima wouldd definitely be excited to see her. Erika rolled her eyes. Takao knew how his (very close) friend was, so she was sure he wouldn’t tell Midorima that Erika was in his house. It wasn't like Midorima hated her, and as far as she was concerned she liked messing with him too, but it was just… hard to deal with him, even for someone as versatile as her.

Shrugging those thoughts out, Erika walked up to Takao’s door and rang the doorbell, readjusting her grip on the bag of various breads she’d bought from one of the Chinese bakeries in the main city. She wasn’t sure if they’d be a fan, but by now it was just a polite habit to bring someone consumables when arriving as a guest, even if it’d been a couple months since she visited.

Takao Suzume opened the door, giving a slight nod to Erika. Though they had never really talked, Suzume had seen Erika the last time she came over. The latter gave a word of thanks as she slipped her shoes off, holding up the bag and asking where she could put it.

Suzume tilted her head. “Oh, you didn’t have to.”

“I’m intruding,” Erika replied with a laugh. “It’s only right.”

Suzume pointed her to the kitchen table. On the walk there, she heard familiar game music and turned her head to the living room television, where Animal Intersection was playing. Arching a brow, Erika put her bag on the table and quickly made her way to the couch, flopping at the edge.

“I didn’t know you played,” she commented.

“It’s a cute game,” the younger replied. Erika watched as she picked up the controller and resumed her riveting gameplay of throwing her fishing pole into the ocean and waiting for the sea animal to bite.

“Kazunari-kun told me you guys had to share games. You must be glad he isn’t home to hog it then.”

“He doesn’t play as often as I do anyway.” Suzume gave a small shrug of her shoulder, gray-blue gaze focused on the screen. “When he does play, he’s always complaining about how you come over to hit Jakku-san.”

Erika arched a brow. “Who the hell is -- oh.” She played the game in Chinese, so the name wasn’t familiar, but there was only one villager that she liked to hit with a net. “Scratch that. You know, he could always kick me out before I do that. I think he enjoys seeing Jakku get hit because it’s like, some venting thing he can’t do to Shintarou-kun.”

Suzume let out a small laugh at that. “As much as nii-chan complains about Midorima-san, I don’t think he’d ever hit him.”

“You sure about that?”

Suzume paused. “Maybe eighty percent sure?”

“Such little faith.” Erika snickered, leaning back on the couch and digging into her bag for her own game console. “Say, speaking of Shintarou-kun… Suzume, have you ever played an otome game before?”

Suzume stopped fishing, turning her head and giving a shake of her head. “Nii-chan talked about how you played it a lot, but I’ve never gotten one for myself. It’s not really Nii-chan’s type of game, and my parents think I’m too young to play things like that.”

“How old are you again?”

“Thirteen.”

“Hmm…” Erika browsed through her game library, seeing if any of her games were appropriate enough.

Right, maybe not  _ that  _ otome game. Okay, not this one either. Definitely not this one, Takao would either laugh himself to death or be tempted to strangle her himself for once. Erika turned back to a previous game, mind memory working through the routes.

“Well, this particular route is age-appropriate for you.” As long as Erika had her stay away from the spade route, it was fine. Probably. She just wanted to show Suzume the clover route anyway, it was hilarious how closely the love interest resembled a certain green man. “If you’re fine with checking it out.”

Suzume glanced towards her own screen. Well, she’d been fishing for an hour, and though usually she didn’t get along with strangers, her brother’s loudmouth personality told her everything she needed to know about his friends. Erika wasn’t too bad a person, just a bit weird, but in her opinion, a lot of Takao’s friends were weird. Erika was treating her like a peer, which was interesting to say the least (in any case, she appreciated that Erika didn't talk down to her despite her age).

Suzume gave a nod to the other's question, allowing Erika to plug in her console to the television. The Yosen manager hummed to herself as she started a new save file, zooming through the boring prologue and clicking to the clover route right away.

“You don’t want to sit through, as Kazunari-kun puts it, the elf’s invigorating explanations.” Erika gave Suzume a brief summary of what she’d skip.

“Nii-chan played this?”

“Well, halfway. Then Shintarou-kun came by while we were playing, saw the dialogue with the CG, and my console almost broke.” Erika’s lips turned slightly into a scowl at the memory. “Virgo was ranked twelve my ass. He totally tried to break it on purpose, even if he didn’t move.” 

Suzume giggled. “Sounds like a story.”

“For another day,” Erika continued, grabbing a pillow and placing it on her lap to support herself. “Anyway, have you met Shintarou-kun before?”

Suzume shook her head. “Not one-on-one. I’ve seen him and exchanged a few words here and there when he visits. I mostly just know about him from Nii-chan’s stories. It’s easy to tease him based on that.”

Erika grinned. “Well, that’ll be fun then. This love interest is like a carbon copy of Shintarou-kun. You’ll have more ammo to rile up Kazunari-kun. He didn’t even finish but by the midway point he was like, ‘ _ Dammit Erika-chan! Now I’m frustrated and yearning! I need to get better friends _ .’”

Suzume’s eyes gleamed as she steadily clicked through the dialogue. “No no, Erika-san, his yearning tone of voice is more like this, ‘ _ Ah, his stupid glasses and his complete inability to socialize competently, I want to shove you in a locker. _ ’”

A snort of laughter wheezed out from Erika’s mouth as she doubled over. “You’re right, that was exactly like how he sounded! Not siblings for nothing then.”

The two continued like that throughout the route. Every time the love interest spoke, Suzume would guess what kind of commentary Takao would give, and Erika would either affirm it or correct it. For the most part though, Suzume had a very fine understanding of how her brother’s pining heart worked. As an only child, Erika didn’t know what that was like, but truthfully Liu Wei and her were starting to reach that kind of synchrony.

… Perhaps not as accurate as this though.

“‘ _ This guy is insufferable, Erika-chan, I can’t believe he’s making me do math to impress him _ .’”

Erika nodded. “And I told him he didn’t have to really try.”

“‘ _ My pride is at stake _ .’”

Erika held her stomach, trying to not roll off the couch from her immense laughter. “Kazunari-kun was complaining so much about how rude Kent was that he never stopped to think about how that alluded to his actual life.”

“Nii-chan can be… hrm.” Suzume sighed. “Oblivious? If that’s the right word. He’s so good at reading people except himself.”

“He’s just in denial,” Erika huffed, attention being brought to her buzzing phone. She arched an eyebrow at that. “Speak of the devil. Hello?”

“ _ I just gotta say, I was sneezing a lot for the past hour, and Shin-chan has been trying to get me to wear this stupid lucky item because of that, but I know it’s because you were talking about me _ .”

Erika rolled her eyes. “I’m sure it isn’t that bad.”

“ _ It’s a banana hat! I told him I left that part of the past behind me! _ ”

“ _ Takao, wear it. _ ”

“ _ No _ !”

Erika looked at her wrist, pretending there was a watch there. “Hmm, I give it three minutes.”

“ _ Until what? _ ”

“Until you wear it anyway.”

Suzume nodded in agreement, able to overhear the conversation due to Erika placing it on speaker. They both could hear Takao’s protest for his own dignity over the phone, but sure enough, as three minutes passed they could hear his resigned voice sound again.

_ “Anyway.... I’m calling because you weren’t answering our messages. We got captured by Kagami and now we’re being roped into streetball. Himuro said you should come so after the game, you can all just go back to the train station together.” _

_ "Is that Erika-chan? How come she answered you and not me..." _

_ "How am I supposed to-- wait, put that ball down and let's be civil." _

Erika glanced at Suzume, ignoring whatever carnage was going on the other side. “You wanna come?”

She shook her head. While she generally would support Takao in his basketball endeavors, she didn’t want to intrude on his hangouts with his friends. “Is it okay if I keep playing? I want to see if I can get a happy ending for nii-chan.”

“ _ What _ ?”

Oh, they forgot Takao was still there on speaker. Erika casually ignored his question, telling him to text her the streetball address before hanging up. “Sure. I already cleared that game, so you can just have Kazunari-kun give it back next time.” She gathered her things and made for the exit. Suzume followed after her quietly, and after another moment, she reached out and tugged lightly on Erika’s scarf.

“Um, if it’s okay with you, can I have your LIME contact? I enjoyed making fun of Ni-- I mean, talking with you today.”

Erika gave a hum, holding out her phone. “Sure thing.”

Exchanging the contacts, Suzume couldn’t help but look at the nicknames Erika had given to her contacts.

“I think you spelled Nii-chan’s name wrong?”

“Nah, that’s on purpose. He’s a character off from this good sushi place back in America.” Erika set her nicknames in English though, with only a few here and there being in Chinese characters - she supposed Takao must have influenced or taught his sister how to read some English, if not all.

“Who is ‘Otome Prince’? Are they someone who’s good at otome games too?”

Erika coughed, closing her phone. “Only in real life, maybe. Are you being sneaky and looking at my messages?”

At the jest, Suzume’s cheeks flushed faintly. “S-Sorry, I just have good eyes. I only noticed his last message to you was asking about streetball too.”

She probably had a couple more unread messages and Takao being forced to call her was because she had been too engrossed in her clearly enthralling gameplay. “They probably just want a referee, making use of my very good managerial skills and all.”

“Maybe I’ll see you again if Shuutoku ever plays against Yosen,” Suzume commented.

“Root for both of us then,” she teased in return. Suzume only laughed and waved, seeing Erika off to the door before closing it once the manager was out of sight.

Now, to load more ammo for lovingly teasing her older brother.


	7. the parable of getting attached.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> fighting off a past that weighs you down is hard, but that's what friends are for, right? to bring you out of the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a bit of a different feel from the vibes of this fic dfhskdjfhsd my stress manifests in different ways and torments eri a little B) sorry for jumping around with this my mind just whoosh
> 
> this is set more so in the later parts of her time at yosen, which would allow her to lower her walls down and show a bit of her vulnerability. that, and usually she's never allowed to really show her emotions (if she were home). perhaps content warning for shitty family? laughs
> 
> this is also like a redemption side of her ig??? imagines corruption arc....

It was a bad idea to get attached.

_ People are to be used, _ her mom had said.

_ Your worth is attached to the money you can bring to your family _ , her dad declared.

_ Are you useful to your family? _

_ Are you useful? _

Erika stared, watching the timer reach zero, and Yosen lost the game to Kaijou from a score of eighty-six to eighty-four. Ridiculous, how the score was so close. The players might be thinking to themselves, if only they had gotten that rebound, or if only they had interrupted that pass. Of course it was too late to regret, they could not change the plays of the past - how could they have known they would’ve passed there to there, or if they would have introduced a new pass route?

Himuro held his head up proudly, shaking hands with Hayakawa without missing a beat. Murasakibara was pouting off to the side, towel wrapped around his face haphazardly as Kise attempted to make cheerful small talk, never gloating and trying to be friendly (it only backfired). Liu Wei exhaled through his nose, shaking hands with the other players as well. Serizawa was sobbing his eyes out, the light of the gym shining off of his head. Nakamura was patting his friend’s back, saying something likely positive in spite of the tears that pricked his eyes.

Erika pulled her scarf over her mouth, silently, and whatever Masako had said went in one ear and floated around airily in her head. It was lost in favor of the ringing in her ears, drowning out the sound of cheers and tears alike, as Erika slowly began to sink into a sea of the words she’d been taught growing up.

She hadn’t been useful at all.

She didn’t cry, of course. That would be ridiculous. Someone had commended her on that (was it Itou?) as the team exited the stadium and made their way to the bus, returning to the hotel and eventually back to Akita. She was distant as usual, though made certain to answer the small conversations that the others would initiate with her.

School resumed as normal on Monday, but there was one thing that was different. She still went to eat lunch with the members. And then after school, for the first time since she joined the team, Erika skipped basketball practice to go to the office.

She picked up the club resignation form.

The guidance counselor had given her a questioning glance. She didn’t blame him. It was the middle of the school quarter and it was a semi-difficult process to apply to Yosen’s basketball team due to a certain captain’s popularity. He had asked her if there was anything she was discontent with in the club, and she had replied respectfully that it was none of his business.

The next day, she skipped lunch. After school her feet wandered three-fourths of the way to basketball practice, a habit she’d grown used to, then she stopped herself and turned away. 

The third day, as Jesus would put it, it was time to rise. Murasakibara had been the one to grab her during a lull in their history class, asking why she hadn’t been around to bring snacks to lunch or practice.

She had replied that she was busy with group projects, though her heart hadn’t been put into the lie. Murasakibara narrowed his eyes and any further questioning was squashed by the history teacher continuing the lesson. Erika actively avoided P.E. by faking that her period cramps had arrived, which the nurse was more merciful to. Erika didn’t think she could handle Masako right now.

Before lunch, Liu Wei had found her and cornered her. She could tell he was intentionally dragging the conversation, more likely than not to wait for Himuro and Murasakibara to join in on the interrogation. She wasn’t about to stick around for that. She’d been prepared, using a pretty classmate to divert his attention, and it worked for enough time to allow her to slip away.

This was ridiculous, she told herself. It wasn’t like it mattered what they thought. It was her decision to resign. She better just turn into that resignation form she hadn’t filled in yet. By the end of Wednesday she had made a beeline to the counselor’s office, tunnel vision only seeing straight ahead of her, and when she turned the corner she rammed directly into Himuro Tatsuya.

The club resignation paper flew out of her folder as her bottom scraped against the floor harshly. She let out a curse, holding in the string of ugly choice words that normally would’ve followed, and glared at the school’s most popular student as he stoically picked up the paper that slipped.

“Why are you resigning?” He asked, face as calm as always as she rose to her feet.

“None of your business,” she snapped back, arm lurching out to grab it. Curse him for being taller though, as he purposefully brought it high out of her reach. Erika wasn’t really short, she was a hundred and sixty-eight centimeters tall, and if they were standing normally the top of her head reached the bottom of his chin.

But his arms were long (had he gotten taller?) and it added to the height. She considered headbutting him, but he passed the paper onto Murasakibara and she knew then there was no point in trying. She stepped back with a scowl.

Whatever, she’d just get another one. But then Liu Wei filled in the gap she would have taken to escape, and by now she was surrounded to the point where in the eyes of a passerby, it kinda looked like they were ganging up and hassling her.

Perhaps they were, but not in the typical way.

“A-Xiang, we are requiring an explanation.”

She crossed her arms across her chest, leaning her back against the wall and looking off to the side, directly at Murasakibara’s torso as it turned out. She huffed, racking her mind for the right thing to say.

_ The debilitating thought that I’ve been holding you guys back all this time overwhelmed me with so much guilt that I decided to give up. _

Yeah right, like she’d say that.

“I got bored of the club,” she replied flatly. “So I’m quitting.”

“Eri-chin, you’re good at lying,” Murasakibara pointed out. He seemed more alert than usual, eyes narrowed not in drowsiness but in something akin to displeasure. “So I know that’s a lie.”

She turned her head up, looking him directly in the eyes. “I got tired of you guys too. Losing all the time, that is.”

Mentioning their loss did the trick. She saw the shock filter in his eyes, looking like a kicked puppy, and all at once she wished she could take it back. It wasn’t their fault they’d lost, it was hers. She was their manager and maybe, if she loved basketball like they did, she’d be able to come up with better strategies or predict their opponent’s moves better - she only had one job. But she failed that job - what use did she have if she couldn’t even do a single thing right? Plus, in the end, her parents had never approved of her being in the club anyway. Being a manager didn’t bring money, after all. 

It was better like this.

She stepped forward, using the back of her hand to nudge him out of the way.

“Good luck finding someone that’ll see you guys win.”

Then Himuro’s hand shot out, gripping her wrist tightly, and she winced. She steered her glare to him and was met with his steely gray gaze.

“Erika, shut up.”

His voice was cold and her body almost froze. He had dropped the friendly honorific too. Well, he wouldn’t be the captain if he didn’t defend his team, after all.

“You’re hurting me,” she retorted, not taking his warning into account. She looked around. There was no one else in the hallway so she couldn’t use her fake tears to rouse sympathy. These three knew her well enough to see through that facade. “Get out of my way.”

“This isn’t the first game we’ve lost.” He did loosen his grip at her complaint, but he forced her back into their manmade circle to prevent her departure. “You’ve had opportunities to quit before. It’s Fall, after all.  _ Unless you give me a proper reason than the bullshit you’ve just spewed, you’re not leaving _ .” He said that last part in English so smoothly, she realized he truly was angry, even if his expression remained perfectly controlled.

But he wasn’t the only one who was good at that.

Erika’s mouth pulled into a thin line. Would she have to be crueler, then, even beyond the means she was comfortable with?

… If it meant they could get a better manager, then she’d become their villain.

A lie, tell a lie, the worst lie, hurt them so they’d hate her and she could cut her ties. She was fine being alone, she’d been prepared for that when she came to Japan. Don’t get attached, because she was going to leave eventually. Don’t get attached, because one day her use would run out and she would have nothing to offer them.

Don’t get attached, because one day they’d grow tired of her and she would be the only one longing.

She opened her mouth, prepared for venom to spill from her lips.

Himuro’s hand brushed her cheeks and she froze, feeling a stream of hot and heavy tears running down her face.

….  _ Oh. _

… When had she been crying?

Erika felt too weak to keep standing. She slowly fell to her knees.

All three teenagers knelt with her.

The Yosen manager yanked her scarf up immediately, covering her face, but she was sure they caught sight of her eyes, which were filling to the brim with her tears.

“I hate you all,” she muttered out. “Why couldn’t you make it easier for me to quit?”

“Because I don’t want Eri-chin to quit,” Murasakibara pouted. “Even if you said a really mean lie earlier. If Eri-chin really was tired of us losing, then you would’ve quit when we lost the Interhigh. Instead you cried with them, didn’t you?” He said that like he was the only one not crying (when they all knew better).

She hung her head, deciding not to correct him on that. “I thought we agreed to never talk about that.”

Liu Wei’s hand reached up, rubbing the back of her head. “That is truly an impossible request to grant, especially since it had been the first time thou genuinely cried. Just like… now.” 

“We’re friends,” Himuro said gently, the earlier icy rage having settled into something like the eye of the storm. Calm, but ready to push back if necessary. “And we’re a team. Call me corny -- rhetorical statement,” he interrupted, hearing her snort, “But we rise and fall together. We’ll share our wins and failures, that’s what we’ve always done, and it’s not going to stop just because you think you can play martyr.” He reached out, gently pinching her nose through the scarf, and her eyes blinked closed at the weird sensation before opening again. When she was sure her tears had stopped, she pulled her scarf down from her eyes, keeping it over her mouth.

“I’m not playing martyr,” she muttered. “I just think it’d really be beneficial for you if you guys got a different manager. One that actually shared your passion for basketball. Your chances of winning would increase. I’ve exhausted my use.”

“Who said you had to love basketball to be our manager?” Himuro shot back. “You already established that when you first joined, but ever since then, you’ve put a lot of effort into making up for that. You’ve never half-assed anything, the research, the scouting, making sure our training goes smoothly, shedding sweat with us... and why are you talking about use? You’re our manager, not a machine. Just like us, you’ll make mistakes and you’ll learn. We’re a  _ team _ , Erika.”

She narrowed her eyes. He was using her own words against her, wasn’t he? The knowing smile that was faint on his lips confirmed her suspicions.

“I can certainly think of none other to be suited for the position of manager than A-Xiang,” Liu Wei declared. 

Murasakibara tilted his head, reaching over and gently balancing a maiubo on her head. “Eri-chin is the only manager we need. Here, if you eat this maiubo, you won’t be filled with all those nasty feelings. It makes me feel better.”

She let out a small laugh, reaching up to grab the maiubo. “Really now?” Her eyes softened as she kept her gaze on the maiubo. “It’s okay if I keep on going with you guys even if I fail you this many times?”

“You haven’t failed anyone,” Himuro corrected. “All you need to do is keep on working hard with us. We’ll win the next tournament, and even if we don’t, we’ll just keep going at it.”

“Isn’t that what you always tell us anyway?” Murasakibara added. “Work hard everyone~ your worth isn’t decided on your grades, or how much you win. If you try your best, things will get okay.” His voice raised a pitch higher as if to imitate her, and she felt herself laughing.

“Seems like thou will be needing to start taking the advice of thou’s self,” Liu Wei shook his head, playfully flicking her forehead. “Thou’s motto, has thou forgotten already?”

_ Do things that make yourself happy. _

Something she’s said to the team many times when they were down.

She let out a huff, pulling her scarf from her mouth to settle it in its usual place. “I’m not gonna go easy on you guys just because you saw me crying.”

“Wouldn’t expect anything less.”

“Can I rip this now?” Murasakibara asked, tearing through the empty resignation form anyway.

Liu Wei arched a brow. “Thou has wasted a tree. The returning of that paper could have been done.”

“Oops~.”

They got to their feet, Liu Wei and Murasakibara bickering over the wasted piece of paper. Himuro held a hand out to Erika, who took it and pulled herself up too.

“You held out your hand to us when we were down,” he started talking again, and she inclined her head with the arch of a brow. “You’re stupid to think we’d abandon you just because you think you’re a better liar than you actually are.”

She pouted, playfully slapping his arm. “I’m a good liar. I just decided to relent because I saw how desperate you all were.”

Well, that in itself was half a lie. She had felt.... scared. The mantra she repeated to herself, that she wouldn’t get attached, had come back in full force, but then it backfired completely -

She got attached and she was afraid of being alone.

And when that fear overpowered her, she’d let her emotions slip. It had only been a second of weakness, but damn it all, in the face of those fools who’d managed to break down her walls…

“Wei-ge, Sushi-senpai, Otome-senpai,” she muttered. The two ahead turned and Himuro inclined his head towards her. There was so many things she wanted to say, but could she say them now? It would take time. Truly, perhaps she could write a dissertation about how they were so stupid yet so kind, to accept someone like her, to be unrelenting...

But that would have to be for another time. Because amongst the busy uncertainties of her mind, in order to not let her words fail here, she would have to settle for something simpler instead.

“Thank you for being my friends.”

She let herself smile.

Yeah, for now this would have to do. She hoped one day she would be able to express her gratitude in its fullest... slowly but surely, she might be able to do that without being afraid.


	8. the parable of the black eyebrows.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> she didn't realize having dyed hair was that big of a deal. maybe it was since the main stars of the series had natural rainbow hair, but that's meta for the fourth wall because it's normal in knb.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> double update because i felt bad only being able to barf out that angst last chapter (even if it had a happy ending).
> 
> something a little light for everyone. it's a bit short, but i enjoyed the drawings i did for this at least~

She exhales shakily, attempting to regain her five senses after having them snatched away by Masako’s cruel exercise regime. She’s pushing her hair out of her face, seated on the edge of the bleacher to prevent herself from collapsing completely. How long had it been since she joined the team? It felt like the honeymoon phase was over and Masako was now deciding to unload everything she could unto the manager.

Erika had thought it would be easy, but she had been proven wrong the second time she stepped into the gym, she realizes. Some of the guys give her pitying looks as they walk past her to the locker rooms. Liu Wei is not one of them.

He hands her a water bottle nonetheless, wiping some of his sweat with a towel. “ _ You did well today, A-Xiang _ .” The encouragement is appreciated, but she honestly didn’t feel like she did. Even though she had worked up quite a sweat, she had fallen behind a lot of them. Seriously, what was Masako expecting of her? She never exercised, always slacking on the P.E. activities even in America.

With a groan, Erika feels sorely tempted to splash the water all over her face, but she refrains, settling for gulping it down quickly.

And she would’ve kept doing that, if Liu Wei suddenly didn’t lean down from his two-hundred and three centimeter height to level with her. She doesn’t flinch but stares back at him plainly, arching a brow.

“Uh, Wei-ge…?”

“Himuro, Murasakibara, take a look. A-Xiang’s eyebrows are black.” He beckons the other two regulars over, Himuro who had been jogging in from his circuits and Murasakibara dragging himself from the bleachers. It’s break time, so the only reason he heeds Liu Wei’s call is because Erika was supposed to give him his snacks now.

Still, noticing that their manager’s eyebrows were indeed black, a contrast from her beige-colored hair, it is a curious thing to behold. Erika hands the chips over to Murasakibara, expecting him to take it and leave.

But then he leans over and ruffles her hair, shoving more of it away from her forehead.

“Ah, yeah, they really are black. I wonder what the truth is.”

Erika sighs, fixing up her hair so that her bangs swept over her forehead again. “My natural hair color is black, of course my eyebrows would be black. It’s way too unnecessary to get fake eyebrows to match my dyed hair.”

“Really?” Himuro leans over and she’s feeling like these three are putting too much attention to such a trivial matter. “Do you have pictures?”

She rolls her eyes. “Yes, but does it matter?”

“I want to see.”

She isn’t sure who says it first, but all three of their voices meld together in different intonations. She grumbles something under her breath.

“Fine, but you’re all showing me your middle school pics next time, or else I’m going to add a certain  _ something  _ to your circuits.” Taking her phone out, she scrolls through some of her former classmate’s social media, trying to see if they had pictures of when she had done projects or study groups with them. 

Finding a picture, she turns her phone and shows them.

“Ah, a Calculus textbook in its natural environment,” Liu Wei notes casually.

“You had glasses too?” Murasakibara mumbles, stuffing a chip in his mouth. “It’s like a girl version of Mido-chin.”

“Not all glasses-wearing people are like Shintarou-kun,” Erika snorts in amusement.

“Well, but you look like a nerd. Math, glasses, a serious face…”

Liu Wei presses a finger to his chin. “I like this past version of A-Xiang better. I will be lamenting it quietly.”

Erika scowls immediately. “Thanks.”

“I didn’t mean it in a bad way,” he defends. “But thou…” He pauses. “Somehow, thou looks more serious like this. Meanwhile, the current A-Xiang…” His gaze shifts to take in their manager’s present appearance. Her eyebrow is twitching in irritation but he doesn’t notice. “If we are talking about appearance matching intellect, the black-haired version of thou would be more proper. If I look at thou now, thou doth not give me the impression of someone being rank one in her grade.”

“What Liu-chin is saying is that Eri-chin doesn’t look smart with her current hairstyle, right?”

“Well-”

Erika lets out a hiss, swinging her foot and kicking Liu Wei in the shin. Liu Wei grunts and takes a step back.

“I did not mean it in a negative way."

“Oh sure, like ‘you look smarter with black hair’ isn’t meant to be mean at all!”

“Well, your straight hair looks better too,” Liu Wei argues. 

“I’m gonna-”

“Both versions of Erika-chan look cute,” Himuro finally comments - they all realize he’s been oddly silent throughout the whole ordeal until now. Erika stops trying to murder Liu Wei for a moment, giving him a suspicious look.

“Flattery won’t get you anywhere. The damage has been done.”

Himuro clears his throat. “It’s not empty flattery. The past Erika-chan looks… hmm, mature, but the current Erika-chan is very cute. The fluffy curls and light shade of hair makes you look more cunning.”

At that, Erika couldn’t help but let out a laugh. “I look more like a menace to society like this is what you’re saying.”

“Actually, that’s not what I-”

“We should show Masako-chin,” Murasakibara speaks up, eager to find a way to extend their break. “Eri-chin’s past self looks like a young Masako-chin.”

“I bet Masacoach had full bangs instead of side bangs though,” Erika points out. Murasakibara reaches over and takes her phone, walking over to their coach immediately. Erika lets out a sound of protest as Liu Wei playfully shoves her back, jogging up to their coach to get the verdict.

“I knew this would be a bad idea,” Erika mutters. 

Himuro lightly taps her shoulder in a comforting gesture. “I think they’re both just teasing. Besides, it doesn’t really matter how you look - it’s not affecting your performance as a manager.”

“Yeah, exactly!” She scowls, crossing her arms across her chest. “Just because middle school me looked like your classic Asian nerd doesn’t mean I was any less me.”

Himuro snickers. “Can I assume that means your personality has remained unchanged?”

Erika playfully flips her hair. “This charismatic, lovable personality?”

“I was thinking more of the part where you start laughing like a villain whenever you present Coach’s regimens and torment your teammates.”

She presses a finger to her lips. “Ssh, it’s all part of the tough love thing Masacoach has going on for you guys. I’m just refining it.”

He rolls his eyes playfully, watching as Masako swung her shinai at Murasakibara and Liu Wei, yelling at them to get back to practice. “Would you ever let your hair go back to the way it was?”

Erika hums. “I dunno. I changed it when I came to Japan for fun - perming it back into straight hair would be damaging, wouldn’t it? Plus, it’s more convenient to wear contacts than glasses. If I ever get rammed in the face with a basketball one of these days, at least I won’t suffer as much.” Seeing Masako motion her over, she waves goodbye at Himuro and hastily makes her way over. Unlike the abrasive reception Liu Wei and Murasakibara received, it seems like Masako is having some kind of discussion with Erika, handing the manager’s phone back to her and giving her an approving smile.

Himuro lets out a short laugh, walking back to the court. Well, he supposes it's yet to be the weirdest thing about their manager they've come to learn.


	9. the parable of the captain's birthday.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> petition to make it the national holiday, anyone?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm glad to say the last time i wrote a birthday fic ever was for riko and not for one of my cursed fandoms because oh boy i was about to have some kind of crisis. anyway as far as birthdays go i'm not really good? fond? of dealing with them but i was like you know what himuro gets to suffer some more anyway. in good fortune
> 
> chapter warnings: himuro pining because i am of course self-indulgent
> 
> (i know his bday be on 10/30, and although i live in america, japan and korea are celebrating it so i thought i'd post it too)

Erika never really expected much from this school in the first place. Elite Christian school all the way in North Japan where it was cold in every season except summer? As someone who grew up in a performative Christian family, it was nothing she couldn’t handle. She could be just as fake as the next person and she didn’t need the religion to do that.

Pressing her back against the wall, she kept a cool look on her face as she regarded the people she was surrounded by with unveiled disinterest.

Clearly though, there were going to be more surprises that she couldn’t expect, no matter how prepared she thought she could be.

“Please, Kagari-san! Please help us!”

Himuro Tatsuya’s birthday may as well have been a national holiday, at this rate.

_ This makes this… what, the fifth group? _ Erika thought tiredly, forcing a smile on her face that she hoped didn’t seem strained. The first time was okay, the fifth time even she was beginning to lose her grip on the mask she liked to wear.

“Is the hoard of bags I’m carrying not enough to tell you that I can’t help you?” She asked, a little too flatly to be pretending. Erika was an enigma to most of Himuro’s fans, because she was the only person who got accepted to be Yosen’s manager, and her attitude, while not entirely unfriendly, wasn’t very cute either. So there was no way their star would fall for someone like her, but why did she stay there anyway?

“It’s just another bag!”

That’s what they said. And because she was finally fifty feet away from the entrance of Yosen’s gym, it was a good opportunity to ensure the delivery of their gift. Erika sighed, watching as they didn’t wait for her agreement and dumped yet another stack of gifts into her arms.

One step. And another. Sanctuary was almost there, she could see the doors. How could she open them though? As the manager she was supposed to be the first one in the gym, so there would be no one to hold them open for her.

Then again, today was a unique day.

Halting to a stop outside the doors, she huffed and turned, awaiting the arrival of the person that was the indirect (yet albeit, very direct) cause of her misery today. He was always ten minutes early to practice, usually towed by Murasakibara and Liu Wei. But as the ten minute mark hit, Himuro was alone, a neutral smile on his face.

Erika wondered what he was thinking about. Then she quickly shook that curious thought out of her head, greeting Himuro with a vaguely annoyed tone.

Well, she couldn’t help it. Birthday or not, the dude really had to learn how to say no to his fans, if his damn lockers were going to be clogged up to the point where Erika was his mailbox.

She watched his expression shift, from neutrality to something apologetic. His hand rubbed the back of his neck as he took in the massive pile of gifts she held out to him.

“I’m… surprised you haven’t dropped them yet.”

“I may be shameless, but I’m not disrespectful,” she scowled. “Hurry up and open them. I felt like a pelican for the past half hour, the least you can do is let me see what people would get you for your birthday.”

“Well, I was more so referring to the fact that you were strong enough to hold them all,” he replied back with ease, a teasing glint in his gray hues. She shot him a look, which he could only chuckle at. “I don’t mind indulging you, but you do know I’m going to return them, right?”

“You are?” She tilted her head. “Why though? It’s free stuff.”

“I didn’t ask for this ‘free stuff’,” he shook his head. “Valentine’s is one thing, I could share the chocolate with the team. But if this is anything like last year…” He picked up one of the smaller bags, wincing when he reached into to pull out a plain black box. “A lot of their gifts are extravagant. You know, rich private school level. It's like they think I'll fall for them if they gave me expensive things.”

“Holy shit is that a fifteen-karat--”

Himuro pressed his finger to her mouth, closing the statement before she could finish it. Himuro looked like he was more fatigued than her, and he hadn’t been the one bombarded by desperate fanclub members. At least his members weren't rabid and overly obnoxious, as opposed to a certain other someone in the basketball world.

“Anyway. I have to open them to find out who sent it so I can return it.” Himuro carefully sifted through the gifts, as if he were looking for something. “Feels like the pile is bigger than last year though.”

“Well, a lot of people transferred this year. Your universal charm as a third year is probably more potent as Yosen's very own Otome-senpai.” Erika shrugged. After all, she was one of the new transfers for the second year, and even among her class people whispered their secretive (not really) admiration for the black-haired beauty. Her disinterested look turned more sly the longer he rummaged through the contents.

“Are you looking for something?”

“Hmm.”

“So there is someone you like getting gifts from! C’mon, tell me their name, I’ll help you look.”

Anything to pass the time. He wasn’t supposed to go inside the gym yet, after all.

“It’s not so much  _ like  _ as it is…” he paused. “Wanting to receive a gift that has thought? More specifically, from my friends.” He gave her a pointed look. Erika wasn’t oblivious enough to miss that.

She huffed. “What, a fifteen-karat diamond gift isn’t thoughtful enough?”

“Quality isn’t everything, Erika-chan. It’s the thought that counts.” He lightly flicked her forehead. He was smiling again and she wasn’t sure why he was. If she knew better, she’d say that the look in his eyes was hopeful as he stared down at her, but she  _ did  _ know better. It was probably basketball senpai extortion or something.

She looked away. After seeing the extent of the gifts he received from a bunch of random people, she very much felt like her gift fell dangerously short of being worthy. But… ugh, she had spent time trying to pick something useful for him. It would be a waste if she just tossed it aside, right?

The longer her silence went on, the more his face fell. Until she gave an indignant huff in his general direction and shoved her hands into the pocket of her uniform sweater, pulling out a small bag and tossing it over to him.

“It’s not fancy or anything.” She refused to look at him. “I just noticed you weren’t wearing your ring lately, and when I talked to Taiga-kun it didn’t seem like you guys had a fight.”

Himuro had already torn apart the package to reveal a silver chain. His eyes sparkled with mirth, especially as it fell on the surprisingly cute charm at the end. Shaped like a cat, no less -- she wouldn't know he likened her to a cat at times, but the coincidence was uncanny.

“And then even though you use the chain to hold your ring I just felt weird getting you a plain chain necklace, so I saw a cute customizable charm that was pretty cheap, and-” She cut herself off, noticing he had not spoken at all. “You know, if you don’t like it, you can just tell me, I should’ve asked what kind of things you like to wear anyway, and-”

“Erika-chan,” he breathed out a laugh. Tapping the crown of her head, he prompted her to look up at him. She stiffened as she did so, the blinding smile on his face enough to overthrow kingdoms, if it could be weaponized. “Thank you. I love it. Remember what I said earlier - it’s the thought that counts. The fact that you noticed my necklace was broken is really-”

She reached out, lightly punching his arm in a misdirected effort to bounce her embarrassment off. “Happy birthday, _Captain_. Now are you ready to get caked by your team?”

His smile faltered only slightly. “I knew you were stalling for a reason.”

“Yosen tradition, after all. I need to get my revenge for when you guys caked me.” She grinned, turning around and placing her hand on the doors. “Do me a favor and act surprised though. The team did their best to keep it a secret even if it was stupidly obvious.”

“I’ll try my best,” he mused, slipping his brotherhood ring onto the chain and around his neck. The ring was a strange combination with the charm, but Himuro thought it was fitting. With how this year was ending, he found himself more and more attached to that smaller back, a scarf loosely draped over it.

He wouldn’t tell her that he had gotten a new chain necklace this morning. He wouldn’t tell her that he wouldn’t use the one he just bought ever again. He wouldn’t tell her that her gift was the one he had been looking forward to all day, even if he knew he probably shouldn’t expect anything, because they were just friends, just a captain and a manager.

But he now had a much more useful, thoughtful chain, chosen with attentiveness and care she would deny. Not one he bought in America, made of cheap silver that lasted much longer than expected. Not one that he gripped and threw many times, tainted by ugly jealousy and petty rage.

His fingers flew over the chain, as if he could imagine her deliberating over which one would last longer, which one looked nice, which one would be the most useful. It was more than enough to elicit that warm feeling in his chest. No matter how aloof she acted towards the team, it was just like this for the other birthdays too. She would choose something that the person needed, and then in turn act like she didn’t know they needed it. That she just happened to choose something they would use.

A new chain, a new bond to carry the past bond he treasured as well.

Even if it was to be smeared by cake now.

(It turns out no one really wanted to smash their captain's face into cake, but their manager had no qualms doing so. Erika called them all hypocrites.)


	10. the parable of sneezing flowers.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hanahaki au, but also not really. (himueri).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm getting too lazy to draw also himuro is hard to draw bc he's pretty and i don't wanna ruin him
> 
> at this rate i'm just writing whatever comes to mind LOL i've been in a shippy mood so these next few updates will definitely be shippy (i do have some platonic stuff in the works for the whole team tho)
> 
> oh yeah, hanahaki au but no one dies bc i think the concept of hanahaki is pretty funny (though aesthetically pleasing, i really like flowers)
> 
> also, this isn't exactly how they would get together, it's just a fun alternative. will i ever write the confession scene? who knows...

The day that Himuro Tatsuya coughs up a flower is the day his entire assembly of admirers shed real tears.

Of course, hanahaki isn’t really cause for concern. It’s a minor inconvenience at best, though the levels of the trouble varied. To his line of admirers that were universal in age, their affections never truly bred a full flower. Sure, there are a few sparse admirers who were serious in their one-sided attraction, but once they had confessed and had been let down gently, their flowers settled down into petals.

No one is sure when exactly it happens. They just know that one day, as he’s walking from the gym with his usual group, he had sneezed and a flower erupted from his mouth.

_ Even the way he sneezes is beautiful _ , someone who had been there would say.

Though, that then begs the question -- who in the world would dare turn down Himuro Tatsuya’s affection?

Himuro knows that answer, but there was no way in hell anyone would ever find out. He hadn’t even confessed in the first place - he knew from the start that his interest in their team’s manager was futile, but he had fallen anyway.

“....”

If anything, it’d been his fault. He runs a hand through his hair, ignoring the whispers from the school’s students. 

“... pai. Otome-senpai!”

He blinks, realizing Erika had been calling him. He looks up, watching her expression crease further into a frown.

“Maybe you should take a break,” she says finally. “This hanahaki thing is more invasive than I thought.”

“I’m fine,” he says, and then sneezes again. His arm had covered his mouth but the flower had escaped yet again. Erika arches a brow.

“And I thought my allergies were bad,” she shakes her head. Erika leans forward, placing a hand on his forehead. He freezes. “Well, if it’s just this and not a fever, I guess it’ll be fine. Still, you should take it easy today. When hanahaki season is over, then you can start practicing again.”

Hanahaki season is different from person to person. In general, the springtime is the main outlier, though the transition from fall to winter affects about half the populace as well.

“You should burn the flower when you have a chance,” Erika points out. “A lot of your fanclub have been placing bids on it. It’s creepy.”

He laughs. “I guess they have nothing better to do.”

She shakes her head. “Their persistence is something I’ll never understand. You’d think that Yosen being an elite school meant their students had common sense.”

“Academic smarts and street smarts don’t go hand in hand,” Himuro replies idly. “And sometimes the smartest of people are… oblivious to certain things.”

He doesn’t mean for it to be a pointed jab at her, though perhaps that’s the ugly side of him speaking. He could never understand how she managed to figure out and analyze so many people but remain blind to his own affections. The thought is enough to elicit a sad laugh.

Erika glances at him. “You’re laughing at that? Geez, you’re even more winded than I thought. I’ll go let Masacoach know how you’re feeling. Remember, take it easy today.”

As roundabout as it was, her concern for him is enough to tug at his heart even more. She really has changed from the first day she joined.

Those kinds of feelings are responsible for his pain. He can’t say he really regrets it though. As annoying as sneezing up another flower is, the warmth his one-sided affection brings is enough to sustain him.

Besides, it could be worse. Though he’s never heard of hanahaki killing someone, there were stories out there that were spun around that idea, though there’s never been any scientific proof of that.

Another sneeze.

Well, to anyone else, this is almost comical.

* * *

As much as he wanted peace, being extremely popular would yield the opposite of that. Himuro’s heard news that there’s a faction on campus extremely dedicated to figuring out who it was that the third-year had feelings for.

It’s annoying. It’s invasive. But his façade doesn’t break. Any queries he’s been asked have been dismissible, answered with a polite smile, waved off without a second thought. Still, it doesn’t stop their persistence, to the point where they’re entering practice and disrupting the others too.

His lips press into a thin line when they corner him, along with Liu Wei, Murasakibara, and Erika. They were just on their way to their usual visit to the sweets shop.

“Himuro-san! We just wanted to help you!”

He frowns. He had tolerated their antics all this time, but interrupting his time with his friends is crossing the line--

“Hahaha! You guys are so stupid, thinking you can help him!”

Himuro blinks. Liu Wei and Murasakibara turn to their manager with raised eyebrows, wondering if she’s finally lost it. She’d been cackling like a villainess, an arrogant grin on her face.

Then she steps forward, grabbing Himuro’s tie to yank him lower, and sticks her tongue out at the students.

“There’s no way you can help him, because this poor fool has fallen for me,” she declares. Himuro chokes on his spit and the students gasp simultaneously. “That’s right. Himuro Tatsuya confessed to me but I’ve rejected him and caused him to contract hanahaki. He just never told anyone because he’s too nice.” Her eyes narrow. “You have no need to bother us anymore, right? He’s going to continue sneezing flowers and there’s nothing you can do about it. Muahahaha!”

“H-Himuro-san! Is this true?”

He has no idea what to say. In fact, he’s shocked to the point that his words have been rendered useless. Had she truly figured him out?

Liu Wei shoos away the students, who vow to exact revenge on Erika for causing their beloved idol so much pain. Then he turns to them.

“A-Xiang? Is what you said true…?”

Erika snorts, letting go of his tie and flattening out Himuro’s shirt that she had accidentally wrinkled. “Hell no.”

Liu Wei falls over. Murasakibara exhales and Himuro can taste his own blood in his mouth.

“They’ve been annoying Otome-senpai and disrupting practice with their Sherlock Holmes adventure,” Erika scowls, folding her arms across her chest. “There’s no way they’d figure it out anyway, not even when **_I_ ** don’t know who he likes. I figured it was easier to tell them a lie than to have them continue being a thorn in our sides.”

“You know, they might target you,” Liu Wei says suddenly.

“They can try,” Erika laughs. “Do I look like the type to be easily bullied?”

_ Well, no… _ . The three of them think simultaneously. Yeah, if anyone tried they’d definitely be crying back to their parents.

“Let’s go get sweets,” Murasakibara says. “We wasted so much time here.”

Liu Wei nods and the four of them begin walking again. Erika takes a few steps to fall back in line with Himuro, who had been silent the entire time.

“Sorry, Otome-senpai,” she murmurs, just out of range of the two ahead of them. He turns toward her.

“Hm?”

“I used your feelings to lie,” she continues. “I mean, I shouldn’t have done that. I just thought you were looking troubled, and as Yosen’s manager, I’m also responsible for what happens to the team. Still, I should’ve asked if you were okay with lying that you liked me. I just wanted to let you know…” She pauses, raising a hand and patting his back. “Whoever is this forbidden love of yours, I’ll clear up the misunderstanding when you’re ready to confront your feelings.”

Himuro forces down another urge to cough up blood. She definitely has the wrong idea.

_ What if I told you that you were right that I fell for you, _ he thinks to himself.  _ I wonder what would change? _

She’s looking at him eagerly, waiting for him to accept her apology. He can tell she does feel genuinely guilty, which is funny because just a minute ago she’d been on a high horse and acting like an over-the-top enemy.

“Well,” he begins, trying to choose his words carefully. “It’s not really a matter of who I like. Erika-chan, I will tell you that the reason I haven’t told anyone who I like, and the reason I haven’t confessed,  _ isn’t _ because my love is ‘forbidden’ or anything of the sorts.” He chuckles. “But? I appreciate your help. I’m fine with keeping up this lie as long as you are.”

His hand reaches out, lightly brushing some of her bangs out of her eyes. She stiffens.

“You don’t need my help and you can take care of yourself, but I’ll be there to defend you if they try anything funny with you, alright?”

Her cheeks turn red. The scarf she’s wearing is raised higher and she lightly smacks his hand away.

“You should take care of yourself first,” she scowls back, running ahead of him to fall in step with Murasakibara and Liu Wei.

Himuro tilts his head. Before he can think to catch up with them, he sneezes again. The black pansy falls from his mouth and onto his hands.

_ Of course he’d cough up one of the rarer colors for that flower _ , Erika had teased before when they were discussing the color of his flower. 

There’s a speck of brown in the previously pure obsidian colored pansy. He glances towards the back of Erika.

Perhaps, he still has a chance after all.

* * *

Hanahaki season is over for the moment. The Winter Cup has passed without much trouble and following that is a string of wins and victories.

Erika is dreading March, when the next hanahaki season begins. Recently, she’s discovered that she too is capable of other human emotions besides bitterness -

When she accidentally catches Himuro’s gaze, he waves politely and with a smile of his own. She waves back without breaking her act, but immediately snaps her eyes away and pinches herself.

_ Come on, of all the people you had to fall for, it had to be him?! _ She whines to herself. Himuro already liked someone else, the whole school knew that. In fact, she’s already accepted that her feelings will remain unrequited forever.

But what she doesn’t want to happen is the inevitable sneeze. She has no idea when it’ll happen, but she already has an allergy to animal fur, so her body is vulnerable to the itches and sneezes. She’s definitely going to sneeze where there’s people around, and they’re going to tease her or pity her or just - god forbid any kind of sentiment towards her.

Her entire motto was to not form attachments. And here she is, being played like a fiddle by her own heart. She hates this.

“Maybe I can call out sick,” she mumbles. “But I can’t do that forever.” 

Well, she didn’t care what other people thought about her anyway, right?

She glances towards the court.

But she did care about her team. And knowing those soft-hearted idiots, they’d want to know who she liked so much that she’d be under hanahaki too. She could never tell them it was their captain - it seemed anticlimactic. In any case, they’d also be concerned with Himuro. During the last hanahaki season, it had been revealed that he had unrequited love for someone too. It affected the progress of practice, though it was manageable near the latter half with medicine and some kind of mindfulness skill.

God forbid she asks him for advice. She’d just have to suck it up - after all, he’d be sneezing too. She couldn’t heave her own worries on top of his, whoever the poor fool is pining for.

March comes in a blink and she’s been avoiding things that could make her sneeze. That’s probably not how it worked, since she knew Himuro didn’t have allergies, but if she could take every precaution she needed to, then it’s okay.

Homeroom. Then math, science, history, English, Bible study --

The day passes by and not once has she sneezed.

Erika braces herself as she enters the gym. She spots Himuro conversing casually with Liu Wei and Murasakibara is shoveling the rest of his snack before Masako can come.

“Ah, Eri-chin~” Murasakibara hums, waving their manager over. “Come over here. Something’s funny with Muro-chin.”

Erika arches a brow as she walks over, placing her bag down. “Funny? He looks normal.”

“Exactly,” he drones out. “There’s no flowers.”

Liu Wei pats his back solemnly. “It seems that our dear captain has given up on his love.”

Himuro laughs, rubbing the back of his neck. “Actually, not exactly.”

“No?”

Erika arches a brow. “You’re dating someone?”

“I’m not.”

Liu Wei and Erika share puzzled looks. Murasakibara is occupied with cleaning off the crumbs - it’s just in that moment that a piece of dog hair flies down and brushes her nose.

“A-choo!” She yelps, panic rising in her heart.  _ Flower? Where’s the flower? _

“Oh, sorry Eri-chin. I didn’t clean from the time I was petting the dogs.”

She opens her eyes, rubbing them. “Huh? It’s fine, just - go change before I die of allergies again.”

_ There’s no flower. _ But she clearly had sneezed.

Liu Wei and Murasakibara leave to go change. Only Himuro remains, and with a start Erika realizes he’s staring at her intensely. Erika’s mind slowly puts the pieces together.

Himuro is no longer coughing or sneezing up the black pansies. Erika, whom she was a hundred percent sure her affection for the captain was unrequited, has not sneezed up a flower at all. Looking at his eyes, she realizes he’s made the same deduction that she has.

“Erika--”

“You should change too,” she blurts, and before he can say another word she zooms off to the girls’ locker room.

She’s not been so good at talking about her emotions - must run in the family, even if it’s not a trait that she’s fond of in regards to her family. Still, Himuro must be some kind of convoluted saint - that, or he’s fallen ill to a fever, because he’s willing to be patient.

Patient till the end of practice anyway. He hadn’t bothered her during it, but once Masako dismissed them, he approaches her again.

“Do you want to walk to the crepe store together?” His invitation is as polite as usual. The implication is that Liu Wei and Murasakibara wouldn’t be joining them this time.

She grips her arm. Exhaling, she lifts her head and meets his gaze. “Sure,” she replies steadily. 

His smile widens and he walks off to the boys’ locker room with Liu Wei, most likely informing him of the change of plans.

No, being some kind of shy and reserved girl isn’t her style. Those kinds of girls were cute, but it isn’t who she is. Still, she wonders why it’s hard to confront her feelings, especially when she’s been given the salvation of knowing they were returned after all.

If this were a world that didn’t have hanahaki, she’s almost certain she’d continue eating her feelings with a shoe until the day he graduated.

She’s walking with Himuro, conversing in casual conversation. The sun is setting and it looks pretty -- weird that she’d be focusing on that right now.

Well, they were friends before all this; it’s not hard to settle back into a routine. Still, as he continues speaking, she can’t help but be spiteful of herself. Himuro notices when she clams up all of a sudden.

“What’s wrong?” He asks, stopping their walk. She stops too and looks away.

“I just don’t get how you can be so calm,” she confesses. “I mean, you’re always calm, but still. I guess I’m the weird one for acting differently.”

Himuro tilts his head. “Calm…” He laughs lightly. Erika huffs and reaches to pinch his cheek for the teasing reaction, but he gently grabs her hand and leads it to the center of his chest.

She stills. His heart, that she expected to be beating normally, is pulsating in short, rapid beats.

“I’m actually unable to calm down,” he says. “I’m really happy right now.”

Her cheeks are splashed with red. His smile, usually harboring a devilish charm, seems to get much brighter.

“I can’t get enough of this,” he murmurs, leaning forward and using his other hand to tilt her head up. “You’re so cute.”

She tries to shrink back but finds that her body very much refuses to listen. “So, uh, I guess we’re skipping the whole talking about our feelings part?” Well, she’d prefer that actually. She’d prefer that very much. Her eyes are starting to close and she notices he’s leaning closer.

He hums. “We don’t have to. But we could.”

“I’m sorry,” she blurts, and he pauses in his movement.

“Hm?”

“I just realized that time in the last hanahaki season, the thing I said to your fangirls, it was actually true and I can’t imagine how you must’ve fe-”

His lips press against hers in an effective measure to cease her rambling. She relaxes, the hand on his chest clenching into a fist, grabbing a handful of his shirt and dragging him closer.

“The waiting is worth it,” he breathes out when they part. “Though I do find it pretty ironic how you never figured out I really did like you.”

“I guess the ‘smart but oblivious’ comment was directed at me,” she snorts quietly.

“In a way.”

“I thought you were talking about Shintarou-kun, honestly.”

Himuro frowns. “You have to mention him now?”

She sticks out her tongue in a nonapologetic manner. “You like me.”

“You like me too,” he counters. “You were acting all modest a minute ago.”

“Yeah, I got over it. It’s way more fun messing with-”

He kisses her again. She shuts up, cheeks dusting with red.

When he pulls away, his earlier smile is laced with that familiar devilish charm.

“You suck,” she mutters.

“And you  _ like  _ me~.”


	11. the parable of the gang.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> erika's life plays out like a movie, except getting kidnapped by women hadn't been on her list of things she expected when joining this team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> knb eng dub released on netflix sent me whiplash so here i am, updating this story because my knb mindrot refuses to leave me along even after a near decade of being into this series (crying)
> 
> my next chapter is either gonna a be a genshin au (shippy) or another slice of life chapter with either wei-ge or kuroko/nigou/kagami laughs we'll see
> 
> no art this time bc idk what to draw

“I’m just saying,” Erika huffs. “You haven’t lived until you’ve tried spicy ice cream.”

Murasakibara wrinkles his nose. “Ice cream is supposed to be sweet, not spicy.”

“Ice cream can be many things. You just gotta open your heart to it.” 

Himuro hums. “Even America didn’t have spicy ice cream.”

“That’s what I’m saying! America is the center of all things greasy and gross, you’d think they’d embrace something that actually works. And I’m saying that as someone who sticks her fries into milkshakes.”

“Hmm, Kuroko-kun didn’t seem to like that,” Himuro laughs.

Erika shrugs. “To each their own.”

Murasakibara sighs, emptying out his chips bag. “I’m out. Gotta buy some more.” He turns. “Eri-chin and Muro-chin can wait here.”

“Oddly considerate of you,” Erika teases, glancing towards the full bags of groceries Himuro is currently carrying. “I can come with though, I’m not carrying anything.”

“It’s okay, it’ll be short.” Murasakibara walks back into the store. 

“You could stand to help out,” Himuro comments, raising one hand.

“Weak little ol’ me? What a bad idea.” She snorts. “I’m carrying your school bag, isn’t that enough?”

Himuro sighs. “You should let Coach know we’ll be late.”

“We won’t be late, Sushi-senpai is gonna be out soon.” Erika pulls out her phone. “Well, maybe I could give a heads up.”

“Excuse me, miss?”

Himuro and Erika turn towards the girl that’s approached Erika. She’s shorter than the latter and looking a bit confused.

“There’s a dog in the alley and he looks sick. I can’t move him by myself.”

“I’m allergic,” Erika replies bluntly.

“He was bleeding a little too,” the girl continues, as if she didn’t hear her.

Erika groans, tugging on her scarf. “Fine, let me see how he is and call some vet service.” She pulls her scarf over her face. “Otome-senpai, I’ll go check it out, you shouldn’t be moving with all those bags anyway.”

Himuro frowns. He watches the two go off, but a weird feeling in his gut prompts him to walk after them. When they disappear around the corner, he drops the grocery bags and goes into a full sprint --

\-- Only for something to hit the back of his head.

He collapses, hissing but not losing consciousness quite yet. His vision is hazy but he manages to see Erika in a different woman’s hold.

Himuro is brought to a kneeling position, supported yet restrained. “Don’t fight, unless you want your lady friend to be hurt.”

Erika is frowning, looking annoyed, but concern flickers through her eyes. “Soooooo, if this is a kidnapping situation, you obviously don’t need Otom-- him, right? He’s bleeding a lot.”

The woman holding her tightens her grip around her neck. Erika wheezes when her air supply lessens and Himuro’s gaze darkens.

“Don’t hurt her.” 

They are definitely not in the position to bargain. Erika shoots him a look that tells him to stop talking, but as the captain of the team, there’s no way he can keep his mouth shut while one of his teammates is getting hurt.

_ Stupid nice guy, _ she hisses in her head. She knows that fact very well, but that didn’t mean she had to approve of it.

“We have the girl but there’s unexpected baggage.” A fifth woman speaks off to the side, likely to their leader. 

“It’s fine. She cares about him too,” a sixth voice mutters. “He’ll be easy to control as long as we have the kid."

Before either of them can react, the women clasp their hands down on their pressure points, subjecting them to darkness.

In all her seventeen years of living, Erika never thought this kind of thing would happen to her. It only happened in movies, being kidnapped, and that stupid aching pressure point in her neck is proof that being knocked out actually works.

Surprisingly enough, she wakes up before Himuro, with only one of the women in the room.

“Hey, can you give me a medical kit?” She asks immediately.

“That’s not authorized by our boss.”

“Then get your boss in here.”

“She’s busy.”

Erika inhales, standing up and decides to throw a tantrum. “I want her here NOW!”

“Someone shut her up!”

Oh, dammit, another pressure point hitting? Great. Maybe her tolerance is getting better though, because she wakes up later again and Himuro is still unconscious, damn that lucky punk.

This time though, the leader walks in, looking very annoyed.

“Stop making such a ruckus. We don’t want to hurt either of you, but if you keep testing my limits, I will have no choice.”

“Pl-please… I made a mistake, I didn’t mean to cause you so much trouble.” Her lips tremble as tears fill her eyes. “I was just so scared when I woke up, I thought I was going to die.”

The boss doesn’t look remorseful, not even sparing Himuro a glance. “We’re not interested in you anyway, so just wait here like good children. You’ll be free soon, if she comes.”

One of her friends comes over to tie Erika up, but as she grips the other’s arm, the manager lets out a yelp and lets tears fill her eyes. God, when had she sprained it? At least the pain gives her more tears.

“I-I really don’t feel so good,” she whines. “Please, I don’t want to be tied up. It gives me really bad memories… my neck hurts too, when you knocked me out.”

The woman sighs. “Leave her untied.”

“A-And the blood…” Tears run down her face as she looks towards the lead. “I feel so nauseous… is there any way you can give me something to treat his wound with? If I clean it up, I won’t throw up here.”

“Give her the medical kit.” Waving the others over, the leader gives a nod before ordering them to tie up Himuro’s hands behind his back. “You’ll be free soon, don’t worry.”

As soon as the two are left alone, Erika scowls and uses her scarf to wipe her fake tears away. “Wrinkly old hags. This is so stupid.” Grabbing the kit, she kneels next to Himuro, who slowly awakens. Erika does her best to tug away at the ropes, but whether it’s due to the tightens of the restraints or her own physical weakness, she fails. “Dammit!”

“Erika-chan…”

“How are you feeling?” Deciding to give up on that for now, she moves his hair out of his face and begins cleaning the blood.

"I've been through worse." He winces at a particular motion and Erika mumbles an apology. "I think it's just a concussion."

"You won't be able to practice for a few days," she sighs. Gently she tugs his head closer, and Himuro notices she's only using one hand.

"What's wrong with your right hand?"

Erika doesn't respond to that. "Put your head down real quick. I need to make these bandages tight."

Himuro frowns and complies, but it seems it's not enough- Erika tugs his head forward to rest it on her shoulders. She uses her mouth to provide the opposing force that she would otherwise have been using with her other hand.

"Good thing Masacoach decided to teach me how to treat things like this," she laughs. Erika stands up, taking off her scarf. She folds it neatly and places it atop her schoolbag - Himuro is surprised that managed to stay in the scuffle.

When she takes off her school jacket, he notices the motion is not as fluid as it could be - her right arm is rigid and she hasn't moved it. She folds her jacket above the scarf. 

"Lay down," she says. "You should rest."

"Did they do something to your arm?" He asks bluntly. Erika rolls her eyes, walks over, and forcefully pushes his head towards the bag (though restrained - she's careful to not aggravate his injury).

"It's whatever," she replies. Erika sits cross-legged next to the bag. "Now can you just rest quietly? I'm thinking. Don’t fall asleep though."

Himuro hums. "What's there to think about? They took us because of Coach."

The confused look she gives him tells Himuro she doesn't know. Still, he figures it's okay - she's been part of the team for a while anyway.

"Coach used to be part of a motorbike gang. We met some of her ex-members before," he explains. "The women that took us are dressed like bikers. I'm guessing they have a grudge against Coach, which is why they took you. She wouldn't come otherwise."

"You're here too," Erika counters, as if trying to defend her dignity. Then she deflates. "Well, it's my fault for that either way. Should've known better than to follow some kid into an alleyway."

"It was stupid, especially since you can't fight."

Erika scowls. "Thanks."

"But I would've done the same. Animals are a soft spot for most people." He chuckles lightly. "Though the difference is I can defend myself."

"I don't have a soft spot," she retorts. "It would've just been annoying if there was a dog that didn't get help. And for the record I  _ can  _ defend myself, wing chun doesn't work for surprise attacks."

Himuro doesn't comment further on that. He knows she's much too stubborn to admit it.

He closes his eyes. Erika looks alarmed.

"You're not dying, right?"

"You told me to rest."

"Right. Sorry." She sighs. “Remember, just rest, no falling asleep. I’ll be bugging you every thirty seconds.” A brief moment of silence. Then he hears her mumble again.

"Could you repeat that?" He asks genuinely. 

"Stay awake," she snaps back, clearly embarrassed. He restrains a sigh.

He thinks she might have said 'thank you', but if she did, what would she be thanking him for?

"You know, most people would offer their lap," he says suddenly.

"Clothes are softer than my legs," she rolls her eyes. "Stop teasing and go rest. Seriously. I'll tape your mouth next."

He hums. Maybe that’d be a good idea. True to her word though, she makes an offhanded statement every thirty seconds. Even if he’s laying down, he’s on his side and he can feel her trying in vain to fiddle with the ropes.

“Erika-chan-”

“Shut up, I have nothing better to do anyway.”

“You can’t do it with one hand.”

“That’s-”

She’s cut up by the door slamming open, jumping in place and taking a defensive posture in front of Himuro. “Who-”

“Ah! You must be Erika-chan and Himuro-kun.”

“How do you know our-”

“I’m a friend of Boss, it’s okay. She sent me here to free you two.”

“Boss?”

“Ah.” Himuro sits up. “You’re the kindergarten teacher, Tanaka-san.”

Erika blinks rapidly.  _ A kindergarten teacher is a former biker gang member? _ Then she stops her train of thought. _ Well, Masacoach is our PE teacher…. _ “Otome-senpai has restraints on him,” Erika says. “Unless you have a knife...”

“No one comes to a fight empty-handed.” Tanaka winks, taking out a switchblade and cutting off the ropes with ease.

“A fight…” True, there’s commotion outside, but Erika doesn’t know how she’d react if Masako really was raising hell out there. There’s a question of legality in all this.

Himuro tries to get up, but his movements are weak and shaky. Erika explains the conditions of their bodies to Tanaka, who nods and supports Himuro, slinging his arm around her shoulders. In spite of the slight severity of the situation. Erika finds it humorous with how tall and lanky his form is compared to the teacher’s own form.

Making their way outside the room, Erika stiffens at the hectic situation, navigating their way around the battlefield. Soon, she spots Murasakibara. 

He waves sluggishly. “Ah, Eri-chin, Muro-chin, they found you.”

“What are you doing here, Atsushi?” Himuro asks curiously.

“I saw the bags outside when I came out,” he explains. “I thought something was weird, and then one of the scary ladies told me to tell Masako-chin~”

Erika glances towards the field. She can spot their coach out there, looking like a raging devil. “Well, I’m glad I never pissed her off to that extent,” she murmurs. Murasakibara and Himuro echo their agreement.

As they settle to the side to watch the show, Himuro reaches down, gently grabbing Erika’s right arm. She lets out a screech and loses all feelings in her leg due to sheer pain. Tanaka barely catches her in time as Erika glares at Himuro, who’s now standing on his own.

“You are a-”

“Acting all tough, are we?” Himuro muses. But unlike the usual teasing voice he usually harbors, he’s frowning and his lips are pressed into a thin line. “Erika-chan, why is your arm like this?”

She scowls. “It’s not a big deal.”

Tanaka gingerly holds up Erika’s arm. “It’s sprained, not broken. It’s not the worst it could be… how did you get this?” 

“From my scattered memories, I apparently woke up and tried to fight, so they dropped me on accident and I fell on my arm.” Erika huffs. “It’s a stupid way to get injured.”

“On accident?” Tanaka sounds disbelieving. “You’re not heavy, right?”

“I’m… average.”

Himuro narrows his eyes. “Why do I feel like you’re lying?”

“About my weight?” Erika replies in disbelief. “You think I enjoy having thick thighs?”

“That’s not what I-” Himuro cuts himself off, inhaling sharply. “You know what, nevermind.”

One point for her. Erika snickers to herself.

“They don’t usually don’t use violence on people they don’t have business with.” Tanaka shakes her head. “You should believe her and not bicker here.”

Erika shoots her an incredulous look. “They whacked Otome-senpai with a metal pipe.”

“Well, they avoided dealing serious injury. It’s a concussion, right?”

“True, my skull could be cracked open,” Himuro nods seriously. “But Erika-chan, you didn’t pose a threat to them.”

“I’m very intimidating, don’t you know?”

Himuro frowns. She’s stubborn and he wonders if he should be as stubborn or relent this time. “Okay, if you don’t tell me, I won’t force you.” He steps away, looking around and trying to spot one of the gang members that had kidnapped him. Once he finds one of them laying on the ground, defeated, he approaches her with a charming smile on his face.

Erika seems to think nothing of that, looking towards Tanaka. “So, how long was Masacoach a biker boss lady?”

Tanaka giggles. “It was on and off. She quit when she became a professional basketball player, but honestly? We never forgot her after that. But we wanted to support her anyway - one of her dreams was to teach kids how to play basketball too.” She takes Erika’s arm, grabbing a long shirt and creating a makeshift sling for it. “That’s why even if she gave up her old ways, when she heard that her precious kids had been taken, she had to come personally, even if she might be risking her job.”

Erika blinks, her heart twisting in a weird display of emotion. “Masacoach…”

Though her touched emotions are put on halt as Himuro appears next to her, a merciless smile on his face as he reaches down and pinches her cheek.

“Bad girl, Erika-chan.”

She screeches. “Why are you attacking me?! Watch your language too!”

Tanaka swats Himuro’s hand away. “She has a point.”

“Her snarky tongue got her the sprained arm,” Himuro explains. “She threw a tantrum for a stupid medical supply kit.”

“It wasn’t stupid! You were hurt you ungrateful little-”

“Thank you, Erika-chan.”

“... You literally just pinched my cheeks and now you’re thanking me?”

“I can scold you for being stupid but I can thank you for defending me, can’t I?” He rolls his eyes. “Your arm… well, it was for a myriad of reasons, but you also got it because you wanted to treat my injury, right?” His hand ghosts around her shoulder gently. “So it’s my-”

“It’s no one’s fault but theirs,” Erika retorts. “Who told them to go picking a fight with Masacoach anyway?”

Tanaka laughs. “No wonder Boss likes her team so much.”

Speaking of that, the fighting noises have started to die down. Murasakibara wakes up from his standing nap at a sudden loud noise.

“Alright, everyone, we’re going home!” Masako yells out. Her former gang members let out a shout in unison as they followed after their leader, covered in… probably other people’s blood. She approaches her team, her earlier invigorated expression now mellowing down into that of remorse.

She bows to Himuro and Erika. They both jump in surprise.

“I’m sorry, you two.” Masako grits her teeth. “You got dragged into my personal affairs.”

Himuro and Erika exchange a look simultaneously. Erika moves first, stepping forward and grabbing Masako into a one-armed hug. Himuro follows after, his arms longer and bringing them into a group hug.

“Thanks for coming for us,” Erika hums. 

Masako’s cheeks are red from embarrassment and she scowls. “Of course I’d come.”

Himuro laughs. “It’s not your fault, coach. I assume you got enough revenge to make up for it too.”

“They won’t be bothering us for a long time,” she agrees. Then she awkwardly shuffles. “So, can you two let go of me? I don’t really do hugs. I know you both are used to things like that, but-”

“Sushi-senpai, if you come down here and join the group hug, I’ll give you the oreo-flavored chips I had shipped from Cali,” Erika sings out.

Murasakibara immediately grabs all three of them and lifts them into a bear hug. Masako groans in exasperation and Himuro can’t help but laugh.

Erika hums and lifts her scarf just a little higher.

This team really was growing on her, wasn’t it?


	12. the parable of her feelings.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a look inside erika's mind when their fake relationship turns real. (himueri, mentioned midotaka).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i actually wrote this in summer last year cuz rabbit and i were like, exchanging drabbles and somehow this came out of one of them when they wrote midorima giving eri advice and i was like... huh i like this
> 
> mindless writing sdjfhdskfjhs still not fully writing out the scenario of their actual fake relationship, because i actually commissioned that from someone (me lazy), but if anyone wants to know more about it then i'm more than willing to share heh
> 
> knb season two in eng dub when... put me out of my misery by forcing me to listen to himuro dub and then never again (but if it's actually good you will find me dead)

Himuro Tatsuya isn’t a simple person, but the same can be said for many others - in fact, when it comes to humans as a species, she supposes that they all cannot be boiled down to a singular personality trait.

Even the games that she plays give the characters a depth beyond their tropes -- well, sometimes. It’s all in the eye of the beholder, and it’s her eyes that have seen and analyzed all these people.

Kagari Erika has been mistaken once… no, even more than that, and even if she’s a genius she knows it’ll happen many more times. Perhaps it’s a product of age or it’s a product of the environment. The whole debate of nature vs nurture is one that she’s uninvolved in - psychology doesn’t tie in closely with mathematics or biological sciences. Why understand the mind of someone if you can dig into them instead?

… Well, she supposes that’s also ironic. Because she knows people better than she thinks, this is the reason she’s been chosen as Yosen’s manager. Masako had seen her potential and helped to cultivate it.

Sometimes though, she doesn’t know people at all, and it takes time to really break down their walls while keeping hers up.

Case one -- Takao Kazunari.

When she first met him, he was stupid. No, she’d argue he’s still stupid, but with more affection and less judgment than before. However, she didn’t know a fool who could invite someone to lunch without a care, and certainly without ulterior motives. Normally, in basic settings like that, it would’ve been considered ‘making a move on her’. 

Though she quickly found out that man’s mind was far from any romantic intentions - he was just overly amiable. He acted carefree and idiotic but he was still sharp enough to decipher her own intentions and crying facades. That didn’t stop him from being kind, from being played like a fiddle for her own manipulative methods of gaining information from a rival team.

The pure irony of that was that even though she had scorned his warmth, mocked his willingness to trust -- she had been pulled in, and they had become friends.

In fact, close enough friends that she’d be dragged into matchmaking affairs for his sake.

Which brings her to case two - Midorima Shintarou.

Takao’s description of the one he pined for fit the term ‘tsundere’ to a T. Observation of his behaviors from the recordings and matches supported that, and when she met him for the first time, he regarded her with the coldness befitting that of someone who was cold on the outside yet warm on the inside.

Of course, he did not show that warmth to her, and Takao sometimes told her he wouldn’t show it to anyone, but not in the way people usually saw warmth. Midorima's kindness manifested in the strangest of ways, sometimes indiscernible to the average eye, and his cruel exterior covered that rather well.

It didn’t matter what he thought of her, really. Her only purpose was to instill feelings of jealousy in him, to try and test out whether Takao’s feelings were one-sided or not. Not only did her plan take a different direction than she had intended, but he had turned around and given  _ her  _ advice.

Thinking about it makes her scowl. As socially awkward as he was, he still deemed it necessary to try and help her, even if he had no idea what she had been venting about before.

Another idiot who was more than the first impression he had given her.

She wraps her scarf tighter around her face. How was someone so smart also so dumb? She couldn’t figure it out, and the only reason she cared was because he also somehow managed to weasel her way into her circle of friends.

Well, not intentionally of course - she knows he’d rather sulk and be a jerk on his own than have herself be involved with him. After recruiting her help with Takao’s lucky items though, she found it enjoyable to mess with him.

However, in the last few days of the training camp, Takao had approached her. He didn’t really look eager to be bringing up this topic, and she also didn’t know why he wasted both their time with this question when he should’ve known the answer.

“Do you like Midorima?” He had asked bluntly. “More than a friend?”

She had been utterly disgusted and upset in the same breath. She remembered staring at him in disbelief, expression twisted up in what she knows is the most hostile expression she’s shown him up to date.

She had seen the guilt reflect in his eyes, but he was still waiting for an answer.

“No,” she had replied, and she fought to keep her voice from shaking. “Do I seem like the type of shallow person to fall for someone I know my friend loves too?”

She hadn’t noticed it back then, but when she had answered him first, his eyes had flickered elsewhere, void of relief but something akin to smugness in those eyes. Then when she had kept speaking, he genuinely looked shocked.

“No, Erika-chan, I didn’t mean it like-”

She was just as bull-headed as Midorima, perhaps even more. She intended on cutting him short and stomping off immediately (no,  _ not  _ a tantrum - she had more class than that), but Takao was persistent. He had grabbed her shoulders, spun her around and insisted she hear him out, as much as she didn’t want to.

She wondered if Takao wasn’t such a kind-hearted idiot, that she would’ve cut ties with someone she considered a good friend that day.

He wouldn’t tell her why he asked her this, but he did say he believed in her. Called the question out of morbid curiosity, and even made a jab about Midorima, claiming he could never be competent to return romantic affection.

With an eyebrow raised, Erika pointed out that it was a double-edged blade, and Takao had laughed anyway.

If she had taken a few steps further back then, she would’ve seen Himuro. And she would’ve known why Takao had asked such a stupid question, and she would’ve figured out Himuro’s feelings and perhaps had been able to squash them then and there, and then she wouldn’t be in this position right now.

“I’ve liked you for a while, Erika,” Himuro had said, completely dropping the honorifics he usually used, his grasp around her one hand earnest. What did a while mean? At the training camp? Before that? She didn’t know.

And she couldn’t listen to him. She had run away.

Masako’s plan to have them fake-date had failed. Erika’s plan to keep it as part of her job had failed.

She curls her scarf around her face higher, voiding her tears as she mindlessly continues her walk outside.

Keeping her feelings separate from the team had  _ failed _ .

“Have an actual conversation with him,” Masako had scolded her in the office, once she had figured out that the tension between Himuro and Erika was also affecting the team. The concerned glances from her abnormal behavior with their captain, Liu Wei’s monotone questioning that did not receive answers - all this was a product of her avoidance of Himuro.

Fools. Why would they care so much? What a bunch of soft blockheads. Still, she finds that she can’t hate the feeling. It’s nice to be cared about, even if the team isn’t doing a good job of hiding their curiosity.

Erika allows her hair to be brushed by the wind, closing her eyes, savoring the slicing of the cold air against her cheeks. Everything was so much easier said than done.

She missed being distant. She missed the times when she could say things and do things without a care in the world. She missed the walls she built in order to break down other people’s walls. It would’ve been so much easier to keep doing that. To keep looking down on people, to disregard their feelings - she was only here for one more year anyway.

…. When did she stop missing being alone, and when did she start missing the company of her friends?

She walks further. Her hands move down a pole.

_ This is the court, _ she thinks.  _ The court where I scored alongside the team, when they cheered for me even if I didn’t put in the effort to befriend them beyond being their manager. _

She could remember it vividly, being hoisted in the air, that suffocating feeling of warmth as congratulations were given to the youth for her lucky shot.

Her feet take her further along campus.

_ I still have the keys, _ she realizes. _ The keys to the gym. Normally, at this time, I’d be there with Otome-senpai, wouldn’t I? _

In an effort to decrease his chances of catching a cold, she had made a deal with him a month ago, before this mess of a fake relationship was brought up by their coach. Masako wouldn’t allow him to push himself past his limits in practice because it meant risking an injury, but that single-minded idiot had gone to practice on a street court instead. Not only was the temperature dropping, but he had gotten into a fight and Erika had been left little choice but to offer this as an alternative solution.

Evidently, Masako did find out, and after a light scolding involving that cursed shinai, she approved of Erika’s gap plan to have him rest between practice and their planned time due to Erika’s private piano lessons. Forcing him to wait was better than going straight into more practice.

She settles down on a bench, running her hand alongside the surface.

_ This is the park _ , she recalls.  _ The park where he stood up for me and Wei-ge, even if we weren’t… _

Himuro Tatsuya isn’t as polite as the world makes him out to be nor is he as calm as he holds himself. He’s taken hold of his emotions but allowed them to devour him in the same instance. A passionate heart, a soul that loved basketball so much he’d be willing to sacrifice his body. A jealousy for the younger brother figure and a sadness for the fact that he’d never reach the same heights. The nobleness of defending his friends, staying true to the emotions he had even if it meant others may scorn him for it.

Despite his pretty face, his emotions were ugly - but that was just part of being human.

Erika hangs her head silently.

_ If these feelings hurt so much, then isn’t it better if I’m not human? _

That’s a laughable thought. If demons existed, would they be able to lead normal lives? The Generation of Miracles could be called demons on the court, but outside of it, they were just normal teenagers having fun with the sport they loved.

_ I’m afraid of being alone _ , she thinks numbly. _ I’m going to be left behind. Even if I accept his feelings, he’ll graduate and leave me behind. _

“Erika.”

She snaps her head up. Himuro stands there calmly, a faint surprise in his grey hues before they steel over with a prominent determination.

_ Speak of the devil and he shall come. _

She gets up and runs again. However, this time he has the mind and intention to stop her, and she forgoes any effort because she’s well aware that she could never outrun him. The hand that tugs on her school bag strap is gentle, careful not to yank her down and send her toppling to the ground.

“Please just hear me out.”

There’s no point in fighting anymore. Erika bites her lips and turns, accepting her defeat as he lets go of her bag strap. He’s confessing to her again and she feels numb and warm all at once.

_ His hand feels so comforting _ , her unconscious mind thinks, for her conscious mind has decided to make the foolish decision of telling him what she’s afraid of. But he’s making a promise to her, that he won’t leave her behind and they can make things work out. She can’t remember what she said next - she’s sure she’s said something snarky or teasing, but in spite of that, he had asked her if she was sure and then in the next moment his lips are on hers.

This isn’t their first kiss - this same idiot had accidentally kissed her in the hallway as part of the act before.

_ But this isn’t an act - it’s real. _

Even if it’s not their first, it surely wouldn’t be their last. And she thinks she would be just fine with that.


	13. the parable of valentine's day.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a valentine's day spent. (himueri)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hSFDKFhdskfhds i lied again it's another shippy chapter because i couldn't help myself for valentine's--
> 
> also the uh, rating for this chapter is kinda T? it's a little suggestive near the end but lordy knows it'd never get anywhere higher because i cannot write

Erika hated February.

Back in America, this month was always an excuse for her peers to flaunt the level of their popularity by how many carnations they received. Erika never understood why the school made the carnation event a public thing, as those who never received a flower would, for lack of better word, feel like shit. Even if she didn’t care about the years in which she hadn’t received a carnation, truly something she could bond over with her fellow peers back then, it was just annoying to see people sad about it.

Of course, this is Japan and not America, and despite Yosen’s pride in imitating Western education, there are still cultural differences between the two countries. 

That didn’t mean February was any more bearable. Because Japan’s notorious cultural exchange for Valentines, unfortunately, meant that those of the female gender were expected to give their significant other chocolates. She hated February for another reason, but this was one a close second.

Erika supposed there was a hidden societal expectation upon making that the norm. By separating two events, Valentine’s and White Day by the genders, it further reinforced the binary conjecture of their society, and also just heightened people’s sense of inferiority if they were not given a chocolate, whether it was obligatory or homemade.

Such an event normally wouldn’t have warranted such a strong dislike from her, seeing as she was notorious for dating the one and only Himuro Tatsuya.

And yet, when the first day of February arrived-

“You’re really going to make chocolates for Himuro-san?”

“Of course! Just because he has a girlfriend doesn’t mean I can’t give him giri-chocolates, right?”

“Himuro-san wasn’t here for Valentines last year, so he’s definitely obligated to accept all our chocolates!”

“Ssh, keep your voice down, Kagari-san is in the class…”

Ugh. They very clearly knew she had been there.

Unfortunately for them, Erika was hardly the type to back down from a challenge.

Nosing her face out of her scarf, she leveled a flat stare towards the whispering group of boys. Two of them didn’t see, but the third one facing her jumped and hastily nudged the other two. The one who had been boasting about making chocolates immediately shut up, not daring to turn around.

“Wanna bet if Otome-senpai will accept your chocolates or not? Loser takes a cleaning duty from the winner."

“N-No!”

Ah… yes, only in Yosen could there be the defiance of gender expectation for this cutesy holiday. This was because of Himuro Tatsuya.

With a huff, Erika adjusted her scarf and dug her face into a textbook. No, she wasn’t the type to get jealous. Hell, there was no way she could be Himuro’s girlfriend if she were liable to that kind of petty emotion, given his universal popularity. 

She was just annoyed. That’s all. All the declarations of war off to the side, from all the genders, irritated her.

Even more so, was Yosen’s basketball team, wailing about the upcoming holiday. Erika was briefing the second year group herself since Masako was in a staff meeting. The third years were warming up off to the side, but it was the first years that were the problem. 

"Aaah, another year of no girlfriends! No honmei chocolates this year."

"Ohhh, if only we had a cute manager who would take pity and make giri chocolates for the entire team!"

"Wait a moment, but we do! The most wonderful manager in the world whose talent is unparalleled-"

Erika stopped talking then, turning around and stalking off to the bleachers. Murasakibara called after her with lazy concern, drawing the attention of the others. The trio of first years stopped their Not Whispering voices as their manager leaned over, grabbing a shinai from the bleachers and turning around with a neutral expression.

Serizawa, Nakamura, and Itou immediately started running their circuits in the corner of the gym. Murasakibara snickered from his spot as Erika silently walked back to the second year group, shinai in her left hand as she proceeded with the briefing as if nothing had happened. 

Liu Wei nudged Himuro from where the third years were warming up. "A-Xiang seems to be in a bad mood."

Himuro was frowning even before his teammate pointed it out. "Yeah… Liu, can you lead the others?"

The Chinese player gave a thumbs up. Himuro nodded gratefully as he jogged over to Erika, who dismissed the second years to their new training sets. She didn't turn to acknowledge him, merely flipping through the pages of her clipboard while still holding that shinai.

"Eri," he said softly. Erika glanced at him briefly. He supposed that was the most he'd be getting if she was upset with something. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Pull out their tongues."

Himuro exhaled. "You know they didn't mean anything by that."

"Because they're joking, that makes it okay?" She snapped back. Himuro's frown deepened and Erika sighed. "Sorry. It's not your problem. I know they're just being idiots."

"Eri-"

"You should go back to warm-ups or else Masacoach will turn us both upside-down," she interrupted. 

Unfortunately, Himuro was just as stubborn and prideful as her. "I'll take the punishment for us both. I'm worried about you, Eri. If there's something that's upsetting you, I want to help. Preferably, in a way that doesn't require pulling out the tongues of our teammates."

The monotone phrasing of his words cracked a smile on her lips. Seeing that, Himuro chuckled and reached out, gently cradling her cheeks.

"Rely on me more, won't you?" Though his words were genuine, there was a teasing pout on his lips. Erika huffed, cheeks flushing red as she pulled her scarf higher. As if it mattered anyway, when Himuro had a full frontal view of how flustered she was getting.

"I'm just stressed because of this science project. I'll figure it out though."

Whether he bought that lie or not, she couldn't tell. He only nodded and leaned forward, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Do you want to come over and work on it?"

"It's a group project. I think my group members would get distracted by you."

"I wouldn't want to have-"

"Erika! Himuro!"

Both students paled as the familiar voice of their coach echoed in the gym. Himuro immediately ran back to his spot among the third years while Erika tried to make herself as innocent looking as possible to the coach.

"You're flirting and holding my shinai?" Masako arched a brow, crossing her arms across her chest as she looked disapprovingly towards her manager.

"I was gonna smack him if he didn't listen to me," Erika retorted.

Masako sighed. "Right." Fortunately, she didn't press the matter further. "Bring me up to speed on what you've done."

* * *

Second week of February, but the gossip hasn't gotten any better. In fact, there seemed to be a high energy amongst the students in her class. 

It felt weird to hear them in the background as she talked with Murasakibara. One of the only classes she shared with him and he had to hear what she’d been hearing the entire week? It was embarrassing. 

"Hey hey, did you hear? If you make a chocolate that Himuro-san accepts, you'll be able to outclass Kagari-san."

In other words, she could be cast aside.

Erika's brow twitched. But for once, she couldn't think of a retort. Wasn't it true, in a way? She wasn't a baker. There was definitely someone out there who could make better sweets than her. Out of all the people in the school, he chose her, but why? She wasn't the nicest person in the world.

"Ahhh, you flies are so noisy." Murasakibara picked at his ear, scowling as he looked over to the group, who quickly looked away. "I'm trying to ask Eri-chin what she's gonna make for Muro-chin, because obviously he's _only_ gonna take her gift."

They were talking about video games earlier, not Himuro. Erika couldn't help but laugh, leaning over and poking his cheek playfully. "Thanks, Sushi-senpai."

He grumbled. "It's not like Eri-chin to let herself be sad."

"I'm not sad," she defended. "I'm just… mhn, a little anxious."

"Ya know, you also don't have to give Muro-chin anything. He's not gonna judge you cuz you didn't bake him chocolates." Murasakibara yawned. "I would though, but that's just cuz I like sweets."

It was… an odd way to comfort her, but still intended to comfort nonetheless. Erika could only snicker, nudging him with her foot gently.

"I know." She leaned forward, drumming her fingers along the desk. "But since the entire school is aware of our status, it just feels like I should rise up to the challenge. I should put in some effort, right?" Her voice was teasing as Murasakibara snorted. They both knew she wasn’t the type to care what other people thought of her, but when it came to pride, they were its defect.

"Wish I could have someone to give me chocolate."

Erika tilted her head. "You know you're more popular than you think, right?"

"That's a bad way to tease me, Eri-chin."

Well, she'd just have to leave it at that.

* * *

Himuro noticed the expectations of the school, of course. Despite his universal amicability, he wasn’t a pushover, thus he had no issue cutting in and asserting again and again that he would only accept one person’s chocolates. After overhearing the eighth person declare their intent and rejecting them, Himuro rubbed the back of his neck, leaning against the wall outside his class.

When had he been the type to care? In America, he had received a plethora of carnations, anonymous and named alike, and drowned in chocolate from his peers. He accepted all of them, of course, for it was only the polite thing to do. When he moved to Japan, it had been in late Spring, but even then he could hear the lament of the school for being unable to give him chocolates.

Then when his birthday came, he had to refuse all those gifts. Not because he had been dating Erika, having then been stuck in an unrequited love, but because students of Yosen did _not_ know the meaning of moderation.

“Hey Himuro, you can’t reject all these people in advance!” One of his classmates elbowed him playfully, a grin on his face. “It’s free stuff, why not take it? You’re going to make all those poor girls’ efforts go to waste.” He paused. “And… well, some boys I’ve seen. I guess they don’t care about the norm.”

Himuro laughed, though it lacked any real humor as he gave a shrug. “I didn’t ask them to do so. That’s also why I’m rejecting them in advance. If they still make it for me even after I say no, that’s none of my concern.”

“You’re quite the loyal boyfriend, eh?” 

“Shouldn’t it be like that in the first place?” Himuro frowned. “Only giving it to your significant other, that is. I don’t get why it’s also… well, supposedly separated from gender.”

“That’s an American thing, being all free and easy like that. Here, all the girls take that day as the opportunity to confess, even if it is to the same person. Or just let them know they’re on their radar.” 

“I see.” The bell rang, signaling their return back to class. Himuro mulled over his classmate’s words a bit more. It was likely that Erika was planning on making something, especially since she was the type to stick her nose in challenges. But in America, on a day like Valentine’s it was usually both sides of the couple who gave each other something.

Would she hate it if he gave a gift? Himuro smiled to himself as he imagined her reaction, something like ‘ _why are you contributing to the capitalistic tendencies of this day_ ’ and arguing if people wanted to give each other something, it didn’t have to be on a designated day of the year.

 _It can’t be helped_ . He played with the chain around his neck lightly, the one she had given him for his birthday months before. _When you like someone this much, you just want to spoil them_.

Of course, in practice Erika gave zero indication that she had any plans to do anything. They conducted practice like normal, the powerful duo of captain and manager managing the training as their coach became occupied with other matters. He enjoyed the way practice could run smoothly like this, despite the social bustle of the school barging in at times and overwhelming the other members.

Liu Wei, of course, was not exempt from casting a judgmental eye. Himuro expected this, since the third year was still single and he made sure to mention it every so often.

“ _A-Xiang, A-Xiang, could you take pity on your best friend?_ ” He whined, leaning on the smaller girl’s back as she was seated on the bleachers. Erika let out a grunt, squirming in place as she tried to shove him off.

“ _That’s a ballsy declaration, Wei-ge. Who’s your best friend now?_ ” She grinned devilishly, slipping out from under him and laughing as he fell forward. Fortunately, she was slow and he expected it, so he used his hands to cushion his fall. Liu Wei rolled on his back, looking pitifully up at her.

_“I am, and your best friend says that you should make giri-chocos for me.”_

_“Not this crap again.”_

_“I don’t have a lover! Just because you and Himuro get to be all lovey-dovey means that we can’t?”_

Erika balked. “ _You… are you crying_?”

“ _No_ !” He turned his nose up. “ _I am not the gorilla chin, I would not cry over something like this.”_

_“Dunno, kinda feels like Okamura rubbed off on you.”_

Liu Wei huffed, rolling and clinging to Erika’s ankle. The manager let out a screech at that.

“To be compared to the chin of the man who joined basketball to get a girlfriend-”

_“Wei-ge, let go!! I’m gonna fall!!”_

“Promise me thou will bestow chocolates unto this lowly single human!”

“You bastard, you switched to Japanese just so those three idiots could-”

“KAGARI-CHAN!! YOU’RE GOING TO MAKE CHOCOLATES FOR LIU-SENPAI BUT NOT US?!?!”

Himuro decided that he probably ate his own words, watching the disaster occur off to the side. With a sigh, he walked over and placed his hands around Erika’s waist, supporting her so that she wouldn’t fall over. He felt her stiffening at the contact, but she shook her head and glared at the three first years who were, now, kneeling next to Liu Wei.

“Liu, what are you doing?” Himuro asked, arching a brow.

Liu Wei’s own face remained just as stoic. It made the current situation more unnerving.

“Thou are not in a position to get jealous, Himuro.”

“What. I’m not--”

“Himuro-senpai, have mercy on us!!”

“Seito-kun, you’re not even the type to be this dumb with them-”

“... I want chocolates too.”

“Why in the-”

Masako didn’t think she’d walk in on Himuro trying to tug Erika’s feet out of the clinging grasps of… half their starter team.

She slammed her shinai on the floor.

“The six dumbasses over there, you have three seconds to prostrate yourselves before me.”

Within one second, they were at Masako’s feet now. Erika knew better than to protest, even if she’d argue later that she shouldn’t be grouped with this mass of idiots.

But maybe she should.

After all, she hadn’t actually said no.

* * *

A Christian school meant that they got Friday off, for whatever reason they honored this kind of holiday enough to take a day off when normal Japanese schools were still open. Erika supposed it was the timing too, seeing as Valentine’s fell on Sunday this year. Therefore, Thursday was the doomsday.

She called the team idiots, but really, wasn’t she the bigger idiot for caving to their wishes? It wasn’t like she could bake well either. If she followed a recipe, it was fine, but somehow it just felt boring if she stuck to the books.

That was why she had a different measure...

_“In an otome game, the Valentine’s event happens after school,” she muttered to herself. And like in many of those cliche scenarios… indeed, she had consulted some of the other girls. Of course, none of them wanted to help her because she was declared their ‘rival’. It was by luck she managed to find someone last minute to teach her a good recipe._

_Sakurai Ryou was very confused as to why the manager of Yosen was contacting him. More like, how did she get his LIME contact in the first place? How did she know he was good at baking? He was scared._

_Should he block her?_

_As soon as he entertained the thought, she had already explained that Momoi had given it to her, and directly asked for his help and promised compensation in the form of money._

_Sakurai sighed. “Oh, Momoi-san… can you ask for my permission next time?” He pouted, turning to their manager who glanced at him._

_“You’ve met her before at a game. I thought it’d be okay! Her request was so cute anyway~”_

_Well, he expected that answer._

_“It’s okay, you don’t need to pay, I’m happy to help,” Sakurai replied to Erika. “Sorry though, I don’t know a lot of specific chocolate recipes, I mostly make bentos.”_

_“Anything is fine. These are giri-chocos anyway.”_

_“Giri-chocolates…? You can just buy them, can’t you?”_

_“Huh?”_

_“If they’re obligatory, then-”_

_“C’mon, Sakurai-kun, you know a few chocolate recipes.” Momoi nudged him, winking as she interrupted his chatting. “Whether they’re giri or honmei, it’s no good to slack on your work only because they’re giri chocolates.”_

_Sakurai had a feeling Momoi had some ulterior motive, but frankly, he was too frightened to question it. He only nodded his agreement and continued replying to Erika._

Thus, that was how Erika found herself staring at homemade obligatory chocolates in her locker a few days later.

“This is stupid, I shouldn’t-”

“Eri, are you ready to-”

Erika slammed her locker closed, startling Himuro who was walking up.

“Um-”

“Yup, let’s go to lunch!”

“Why did you-”

“Starving!”

Dragging him by the hand and refusing to let him get the obvious question in, Himuro could only resign to her.

* * *

Himuro expected that some of his ‘admirers’ would ignore his repeated previous statements of refusal and make chocolates anyway. He also expected that some of them would resort to tears, which didn’t move him in the least.

Groaning softly, he ran a finger through his bangs, wondering why they were all so obstinate. He was going to be late to practice at this rate. Maybe he should start ignoring them directly, but-

“Himuro-san, are you free?”

He turned, lips pressing into a thin line. “What is it?”

“I-I, um, this chocolate-”

“Sorry, but I will have to refuse.”

If he didn’t reject them politely, they’d take their jealousy and disappointment out on Erika like they had before. 

While Himuro would gladly track down every one of them to beat them to a pulp, it wasn’t realistic, especially since doing so would restrict him from games. Ah, he sometimes missed middle school, where he could let loose without worrying…

But he wouldn’t trade this team or their manager for anything else, which is why he had to restrain himself.

“Coach, I think I may be a few minutes late,” he messaged Masako.

“I know. Just do your best to get here as soon as you can.”

Hah, their coach was also amazing in her own right.

Still, there was a buzzing excitement in his chest as he made his way to the gym. He imagined Erika’s face, cheeks slightly flushed as she would mutter something to defend herself and hand over that chocolate. Or maybe she’d have a prideful grin on her face, declaring that he was fortunate to be bestowed something made by her own hands. He didn’t have a gift for her now, he planned to give it to her on Sunday, but-

“Kagari-chan, you really do caaaaare!!!”

“Put me down!!!!”

“A-Xiang, A-Xiang, my sweet best friend, you act so prickly but spoil us at times…”

“Hey hey, Eri-chin, aren’t these homemade…?”

“Well, they’re still giri-chocolates.”

“Mhnn, they’re good though~”

Himuro laughed to himself. He had a feeling she would’ve made the team giri-chocos too, she really was too much like a cat. Still, as the commotion faded, Himuro noticed that she was… carrying nothing else. Her pockets were flat and she was already talking to Masako about the plan for today.

He inhaled sharply. It was fine. It wasn’t like he was expecting it anyway, he knew she’d been pressured by the school, this was probably her act of defiance to them. Why did she need to make honmei chocolates for the sake of an image anyway? The love between them, it was understood only by the two of them-

Seeing Serizawa stuff his face with those homemade _obligatory_ chocolates, Himuro grudgingly concluded something to himself.

Yeah, he was jealous.

“Muro-chin, your face is kinda ugly right now,” Murasakibara stated flatly. Himuro pulled his gaze away from the first years, blinking in surprise.

“... Huh?”

“You shouldn’t worry much about things. Sometimes life is a surprise.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Atsushi.” And he truly did not. Between playing dumb about his own emotions and understanding Murasakibara, it played perfectly together for once.

He’d feel more justified if she treated him coldly after. But no, she gave a smile and waved when they made eye contact, and Himuro could let go of some of those ugly emotions to return her smile. He was just glad no one outside of the club was here to witness his absolute fall from glory.

Whatever. He could deal with a slightly public humiliation if it meant hogging Erika to himself on dates, especially when she was smiling at him like he was the only one she was looking at. Which, he supposed she was, but being so open about her emotions was unlike her. It was also unlike her to initiate most displays of affection, but she had immediately reached for his hand which he happily accepted when he arrived to their meeting spot for their Sunday Valentine's date. Who needed to go to church when he could go on dates with his beloved?

“Everywhere’s gonna be grossly busy, but I reserved a spot at this cute cafe. I wanna try some of their Valentine’s specials.”

“Haha, it feels like Japan is the only one who goes all out for something like this. Wasn’t this holiday originally a Western one?”

“In the end, everything falls back to capitalism.” Erika shrugged. “It’s interesting to see some of these cafes restrict it so that only couples can enter on this day though. Why can’t a single person enjoy heart-shaped pink things?”

Himuro arched a brow. “Saying that as a not-single person concerns me.”

“I didn’t dress up cutely to break up with you, idiot.”

Exchanging looks, they could only laugh and continue walking. Erika would occasionally squeeze his hand, eliciting a thoughtful hum from him in return. He suspected that she had something else planned. The extra affection, while not unwelcomed, definitely played a part in that. It was likely to make up for what happened Thursday then.

Feeding each other spoonfuls from an overly decorated parfait, taking part in couple events at cafes, dragging each other all over the city, it truly had been a wonderful time. 

At the end of the day, they were at her homestay house. Erika had declared that her gift to him was in the fridge, and a sly offhand comment that her homestay parents weren’t going to be home since they went to celebrate Valentine’s as well. Himuro only smiled, aiming to be unreadable, but at the least he could appease his past jealous feelings with this.

As he took off his shoes and settled in the living room, however, he spotted Erika’s pout on her lips as she stood awkwardly in the hallway.

“We’re halfway through February.”

“Hm?”

“And you’re graduating next month.”

His breath caught in his throat.

Erika hated February.

Himuro stood up, hastily walking over and gently gripping her shoulders, turning her to face him. The pout stubbornly remained on her mouth as she kept her gaze down.

“Eri…”

“Over and over all those people kept talking about how they would steal you from me with some goddamn chocolates,” she muttered. It was quiet in the house, so he could hear her clearly. “It pissed me off. None of them even thought about how you’re a third year and you’re going to be gone in just a month.”

“Oh, Eri,” he whispered, taking her face in his hands and leaning down to kiss her. She was still pouting, eliciting a chuckle from Himuro as he teased her lips apart with his tongue. She let him, of course, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t sulk on her own.

“Making out isn’t going to change anything,” she protested.

“This is hardly a makeout session.” One of his hands slipped lower, brushing her hips. “Though I could change that-”

“T-Tatsuya!” She shoved her hands in-between their mouths, glaring at him while he returned her gaze with a playful glimmer in his gray hues. “I-I’m trying to have a serious talk here!”

“Sorry, sorry. You were saying?”

“... Can you give me some breathing space?”

He huffed, relenting and straightening his back. When she relaxed, he decidedly lifted her into his embrace, causing her to yelp as he carried her to the couch. Of course, his intentions were innocent, merely wanting her to be comfortable as they would have a ‘serious’ talk. To Erika though, it was more distracting to be sitting in his lap, cheeks burning red as she looked away.

“You’re so unfair.”

“Proceed,” he said, as if nothing had happened.

She scowled, looping her hands behind his neck as she buried her face in the crook of his neck. “I said what I said.”

“That’s true. It explains your crabby mood the past few weeks too.”

“I wasn’t that crabby.”

“I just thought it was because everyone kept pestering you, one way or another.” Himuro sighed, nuzzling the top of her head. “To think you were thinking about that when it’s still a month away…”

“It’s not only ‘still’!” Erika sat up, moving her hands down and gripping the front of his shirt, shaking him as best as she could. “Y-You! You think you can just walk into my life and sweep me off my feet, and then leave like it’s no big deal-”

“I never said it wasn’t a big deal,” he shushed her, pressing a finger to her mouth. “I promised you I’d figure it out, right? When I confessed?”

Erika stilled her movements, indeed recalling that December when they had gotten together. The main reason she had tried to avoid a relationship was because of the inevitable separation. As much as she boasted her confidence…

… in the end, clinging onto the attachments she created was her weakness.

“I did choose a university in Tokyo. I was going to wait until I officially got accepted, but Coach said my prospects were good.”

Erika remained silent, her expression unreadable, cueing Himuro to continue.

“It’s a four hour train ride. I’ll visit once a week--”

“No,” she shot back. “Why do you have to waste money like that?”

Himuro frowned. “It’s not a waste.”

“It adds up!” 

“I’m going to get a part-time job when I move. It’s better me than you, given your situation-”

“Yeah, like I’m gonna let you do all the work!” She smacked his chest. “Anyway, you’re making it sound like I can’t live without you or something. Annoying.”

He chuckled, raising a hand and catching her half-hearted hitting attempts. “As I faithfully recall, the one who ran away because she was afraid she was going to get left behind was you.”

She huffed. “Yeah, and now it just sounds like _you_ won’t miss me. In that case, maybe it’s better if I just b-”

Himuro tugged her forward, capturing her lips with his again. His hand firmly pressed at the back of her neck, fingers tangled in her scarf as she struggled to catch her breath with the sudden movement.

“T-Tatsuya-”

“I might really get mad if you finish your sentence.”

“W-We, ah, can’t talk like this-”

“For someone so smart, you can be so dumb.” He was the one to pull away this time, a faint pinkness to his cheeks as he smugly observed Erika’s own flustered reaction, panting for breath. “If you want to talk arrogantly, you should be prepared to follow through all the way.”

“Hey, that’s not fair!”

“Isn’t it?” He hummed playfully, enjoying how she would pinch his cheeks in retaliation. “Eri, close your eyes for a second.”

She narrowed her eyes.

“That’s not closing.”

“I’m glaring at you.”

“You’re almost there! You can do it.”

“God, I’m going to hit you.”

“Shouldn’t say the Lord’s name in vain-”

Erika closed her eyes. “Shut up.”

Himuro’s laughter was still comforting, even with all his awful teasing. Erika decided to comply, not moving as she felt him rustle under her, hands brushing her neck beneath her scarf. 

“Alright, you can open them.”

She blinked dubiously at the circular object hanging from the necklace. Then she stared at him, eyes wide as she struggled to find her own words and failed.

“Hmm, it’s probably going to get hidden by your scarf.” He tugged lightly at the fabric around her neck, attempting to readjust it. “Only the ring will be seen, but I guess that’s fine.”

Vocalizing the object aloud, Erika’s body stiffened as her cheeks found their favorite shade of red again.

“U-Uh, Tatsuya, this-”

“It’s a gift,” he said innocently. “I know in Japan it’s usually the girl who gives gifts, but since we both grew up in America, I figured it wouldn’t hurt.”

No… no, she shouldn’t be thinking hard into this. After this, this is the same man who also gave Kagami Taiga a ring as children, as a symbol of their ‘brotherhood’. Honestly, if it weren’t the fact that they both brotherzoned each other, she might’ve read more into that than necessary.

If… if it was Himuro Tatsuya, rather than a proposal, this ring was just a promise. Yeah. That’s all. A symbol of their relationship, but definitely not of that intent. They were still in high school, after all!

Looking at him, whose head was tilted in curiosity and faint concern, as if worried she didn’t like the gift, Erika could only sigh.

“You’re sighing? Is it ugly? Do you not-”

“Shut up.” Leaning forward, she pressed her forehead to his, brushing her nose against his. “I don’t want you to visit once a week. I told you, it adds up.”

“That doesn’t matter. I still want to visit you and the team.”

“You’re going to be busy with school. At the very least, let us visit you too.”

“...”

“Besides, none of us are going to wither away if we go a few months without seeing each other. LIME has video chat. We still have all those group chats with each other.” She huffed. “I’m more fine with this than you think. I just...”

“I know,” he murmured, slipping his arms around her waist. 

“I’ll miss you a little.”

At that, he snorted. “Only a little?”

She smiled. “Yeah. A little.”

“I guess this undervalued boyfriend won’t be receiving chocolate today then?”

“Oh come on, you really were jealous?! Sushi-senpai told me but I found it hard to believe.”

Himuro pouted. “I’m human too.”

Erika rolled her eyes. “Those giri-chocos were pretty low effort. Obviously I was going to give you your sweets on the actual day because I put more effort into that.”

“I kinda suspected as much.”

“Doubtful.” Still, Erika moved her face away from his. “Well, that’s enough vulnerability to show tonight. I’ll get your jealous dessert out-”

Himuro’s grip tightened on her waist, eliciting a yelp as she fell forward against him with the movement.

He smiled.

“I’d rather have a different kind of dessert.”

**Author's Note:**

> if you ever also feel like rambling about yosen or just any other team, you're free to bother me too - my mind is always buzzing even if i get lapses in motivation gahahaha


End file.
